Case Study 108
by coffeetalk
Summary: Sweets is compiling a report on Booth and Brennan's partnership for the FBI, but before he can finish, he needs to put them in some unlikely situations that force them to realize how important they really are to eachother. FINAL CHAPTER UP.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Author's Note: Sweets's draft of the case study doesn't really need to be read... it isn't really important since it all gets explained later on, and it's probably all wrong becasue I'm not a psychologist, but i decided to leave it in anyways.

Chapter 1 – The Plan

Sweets sat at his desk, eyes wandering absently around his office as he grasped for an idea. In a neat pile to his right sat a stack of file folders, each holding a detailed report on a different FBI partnership he had been working with. The only report left uncompleted sat in front of him, completely blank aside from the faint traces of eraser smudges that littered the page.

Twice a year, he had to assess each of the partnerships under his council and submit his findings to the FBI, and twice a year, he finished every report early except for one. Dr Brennan and Agent Booth were difficult to describe in writing; they were the kind of people you had to see in person before you could pass any kind of judgment on them or their relationship.

Still, he had to do the best he could with the evidence he had compiled, but as he thumbed through the notes he had taken and questionnaires he had administered over the course of their numerous therapy sessions, he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't enough. As Booth had so willingly pointed out in their first session, his statistics suddenly seemed superficial. At the time, they had helped him to discover the potential problems that threatened Booth and Brennan's professional relationship, but they did nothing now to help him improve it, or even understand it.

He shuffled through his notes one more time before stuffing them in the back of the file and pulling out a blank sheet. What he needed was more evidence. Better evidence. Of course, to get evidence, you need to perform a study, and before you can study anything, you need a plan.

Clicking his pen open, he began to scrawl across the top of the page.

_Case Study #108_

_Previous findings relevant to study:_

_- Data shows a strong emotional attachment between participants that has been proven to be irregular in current context of professional partnership_

_- Participants are unwilling to admit to an attachment of such a magnitude_

_- Emotional attachment has increased over time (see Case study #304 conducted by Dr J Wyatt)_

_Objectives of study:_

_- Explore participants' consciousness of attachment_

_- Explore possible positive/negative effects of pursuing social relationship_

_- Explore possible positive/negative effects of ignoring possible social relationship_

_Possible Methods of study:_

_- Consult participants about one another in an individual setting_

_- Confront participants with a range of situations in which they must interact with one-another in a non-professional setting and observe positive or negative effects on professional partnership_

_- Eliminate social interaction for a period of time and observe positive or negative effects on professional partnership_

He smiled proudly at the messy scrawl covering his page, and dialed the number of his FBI supervisor. The rest of his case reports could be delivered that afternoon, but there was one file that he would be needing an extension on.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Pitch

Because a phone call is never enough, Sweets was seated across from him FBI supervisor an hour later, watching as the aging man frowned over his case study.

After a moment, he sighed deeply, settled back in his chair, and looked at Sweets. "So you want an extension to perform a case study on Booth and his partner."

Sweets nodded, smiling. "That is correct, Agent Gilmore."

He hesitated again before continuing. "I don't like to give extensions, Dr Sweets, they mess up deadlines."

"I'm aware of that, Sir, but I feel that in this case, my results would be very beneficial to the partnership."

Agent Gilmore scoffed slightly, scratching the rough stubble on his cheek. "Well, I should certainly hope so. Tell me about this study. What are you trying to find out, how are you trying to find it out, and what do you need from me?"

Sweets smiled again, ignoring his discomfort. "Well, as it says in the outline I provided you with, I need to assess weather or not Agent Booth and Dr Brennan are aware of their suppressed romantic feelings for each other, and whether or not the pursuit of these feelings would be damaging to the partnership."

"I see. And you're sure that these two are harboring – _suppressed romantic feelings_, are you?"

The psychologist laughed lightly to himself. "Yes, very sure."

The Agent took another minute to consider. "And why is that suddenly a crisis? If they've been ignoring it for the past 3 years without any obvious complications, I say stick to the system they've got."

Sweets sighed. "You can't suppress anything forever, Agent Gilmore. Overtime, as their attachment strengthens, ignoring these emotions will produce more harm than good."

"Alright, so what are you planning on doing about it?"

"I basically have to assess the effect a romantic relationship would have on their professional partnership, and whether or not they would be better to confront their feelings or continue to suppress them."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

"Well, I'm going to subject Dr Brennan and Agent Booth to a series of circumstances they would be forced to face as a couple, such as sharing living accommodations, closet space, making transportation arrangements, going out in public together… and basically judge whether the arguments or complications that may arise from this will affect their working relationship."

"That sounds risky, Dr Sweets."

He hesitated. "That's not all, Agent Gilmore. Studies show that in order to suppress a growing emotional attachment such as this one, subjects may be required to distance themselves from the object of their affection either physically or emotionally to maintain composure. This means that if we don't do anything, Agent Booth and Dr Brennan will likely start avoiding one another."

"I hope you have a point."

Sweets tapped his foot nervously before continuing slowly. "After forcing them to spend time together, they'll have to be separated for a period of time except for when they're at work. Eliminating the current social element of their relationship may help us to understand how their professional partnership will be affected if their suppressed feelings drive them argue or ignore each other."

Gilmore sighed again, more heavily than before. "I don't like it, Dr Sweets."

"I was fairly certain you wouldn't."

"Then you probably also knew I'd have to accept. Booth and Brennan are the best team I've got right now, and it's in the interests of the organization to do what's best for their partnership. So… what will you need from me?"

Sweets couldn't hide his excitement as he worked out the finer points of the deal with agent Gilmore, and as he stepped outside into the sunshine, case file in hand, he couldn't help but reflect on how Booth and Brennan weren't the only ones with emotionally attached to this study.

A/N: I know we've had no Booth or Brennan yet, but i promise if I keep going that's all it'll be from now on. You guys are such troopers for hanging in for two really dry chapters..


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The List

Booth squirmed on the squeaky leather couch in the waiting room outside Sweet's office, watching his partner seated calmly beside him as she absorbed an article in _Psychology Today. _The patch of sky visible through the nearest window had sunken into an inky black, and the room was silent except for the monotone drumming of the wall clock and the squeaking made by Booth's pants as he tried to re-adjust himself on the uncomfortable cushion.

He shimmied closer Brennan, hoping the noise of his pants against the leather would be enough to divert her attention away from her article long enough for him to engage her in some sort of a conversation. He had inched almost near enough to be able to smell her hair when he was interruped by Sweets, opening the door to usher them in. Brennan reluctantly put down her article and they stood up together, his hand instinctively moving to its preferred place on the small of her back.

She flashed him a quick half smile as they walked through the door and sat down side-by-side on the equally uncomfortable seats in front of the psychologist's desk. Leaning back importantly in his own well-padded arm chair, Sweets crossed his arms across his chest and surveyed the pair before beginning.

"As you may have guessed, since today isn't Saturday, that this is not a regularily scheduled appointment."

"Yeah, well, you know, the fact that you interrupted me in the middle of my Pad Thai was also a pretty good tip off."

Sweet's smile lessened several watts. "While I appreciate your frustration with the suddeness of the call, Agent Booth, your sarcasm seems unnecessary."

Booth opened his mouth to argue, but his attention was instantly averted when he felt a soft hand on his lower arm. Brennan raised her eyebrows suggestively at him when he looked towards her, and, forgetting why he was even frustrated in the first place, he relaxed back into his seat and calmly returned his concentration to Sweets.

"Alright, now that all our hostility is out in the open, let's proceed."

From a briefcase beside his desk, he withdrew a plain file folder, thick with notes. The dog-eared edges of the pages near the bottom contrasted with the crisp corners of the newer documents piled on top, and Booth was reminded immediately of an FBI case file that had been slowly compiled over time. He soon realized that he was not far off, as Sweets introduced the folder as his documentation of their therapy sessions over the past months. After taking a moment to be offended by this obvious violation of privacy, Booth began to wonder why he had called them in so urgently in the middle of dinner, just to show them an old file.

Brennan's gentle frown told him she was about to ask the same question when Sweets began his excited explination. "I've just recieved permission from my FBI superiors to conduct a study on you two and your partnership in a controlled environment over the next few weeks to asses a few things."

He pulled out two copies of his case study, now neatly typed out, and slid one across the desk to each of them as he continued. "I have to compile a report on your professional relationship, but in order to do so, I need to review a few aspects of your personal relationship first. You'll continue your weekly therapy sessions, between which you'll be given a series of challenges which you must work through together. When we reconveen at the end of each week, we'll discuss that week's assignment and any complications that may have ensued. At the end of the study, I'll be reviewing my findings, at which point I'll pass a verdict on how your partnership should proceed."

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on a second. Exactly what kind of challenges are we talking about here?"

Sweets excitedly withdrew another two sheets from the open file. "Well, Agent Booth, I have compiled a list of the upcoming assignments for you to review. The idea is bascially to put you in situations similar to those you would have to face in -" He hesitated, not knowing how best to proceed. "- In an intimate personal relationship."

Booth's eyes shifted uncomfortably towards his partner as he leaned in towards the therapist's desk, and began in a cautious tone. "You mean you want us to act like - like we're - you know ... _a couple_?" His voice dropped to a whisper as he finished the sentance, and Sweets smiled subconsciously.

"That's correct, Agent Booth. For the next several weeks, you and Dr Brennan are, as far as myself and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are concerned, a couple."

Their astonishment translated into identical vacant expressions, and their sudden lapse into shocked silence gave Sweets a chance to pass each of them a second sheet of paper, this time a short list.

"These are the basic situations you'll be put into, and the specific challenges you'll have to face in each. I have a more detailed version in your case file, along with the objectives of each exercise, but I compiled a simplified summary for Agent Booth's benefit."

Booth was startled from his silence. "Hey, wait, that's not fair. Just because I don't _speak_ geek, doesn't mean I can't understand it."

Brennan glared at him, and he raised his hands defensively. "I'm just saying."

Sweets allowed her a moment to roll her eyes submissively before continuing. "Any supplies or accomodations are payed for by the FBI, and you are, of course, exempt from all your current investigative duties."

"Wait, what?" Brennan tore her attention from Booth. "We won't be solving any murders?"

Sweets grinned. "As far as you two are concerned, Dr Brennan, for the next few weeks, there _are_ no murders."

Booth and Brennan were suddenly back on the same side of the argment. "What, no way, you can't just do that. I mean, isn't that violating, you know, some sort of human right or something?" He turned to his partner, adressing her more quietly. "Come on Bones, help me out here."

"What? I'm not a lawyer, Booth." She turned back to Sweets. "But I do agree with him. If we have to submit ourselves to this evaluation for the next few months, we should at least let be able to work while we do it."

"I said weeks, Dr Brennan, not months, and the whole idea is you're not _supposed_ to be working. Seriously, though, are you two actually disappointed about this? Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't missing work usually make people, you know, _happy_?"

Booth scoffed. "I'm sorry, but have you _met _Bones?"

She frowned at him again. "Booth, that's not fair. I have a life outside of work."

Sweets saw a perfect opening. "And how do you spend your time when you're not working, Dr Brennan?"

"Oh no. No, no, no I see where this is going. You're turning this into a therapy session now, aren't you? Nice try, Sweets, but Bones and I have some cold Thai food waiting for us, so we'll just take our little lists and go, if that's okay with you." He stood up, gathered his things, and tapped his partner on the shoulder. "Come on, let's boogie, Bones."

The psychologist's smile fell, and he stood to try and stop them as Brennan and Booth began walking towards to door. "Wait, no, you can't go, I-"

"Always a pleasure, Sweets."

"But the-"

His sentance trailed off as Booth led Brennan out the door, and then turned to flash him one last grin before shutting the door. "And thanks again for the lists."

Sweets sighed in frustration as he heard their footsteps fade away, but as he sunk into his chair, the smile began to return to his face. As difficult as they were, there was something about them that made them impossible to dislike. Chuckling lightly to himself, he pulled their file back towards himself, re-adjusted his position in his armchair, and settled down to review it once again.

A/N: Coming up, Booth and Brennan finally look at the lists, and the first challenge gets underway. Read and review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - The Challenges

Brennan was fiddling absently with the corner of her list, folded neatly in her lap as she sat in the passenger seat of Booth's SUV. He had made her promise not to look at it until they could both read it over together, and while she found this frustratingly counterproductive, she had agreed to wait until they got to the diner before she opened it. She tried to stop herself from speculating as to what Sweets had written, but the the uncomfortable curiosity that came from idle anticipation was impossible to avoid.

The steadily approaching lights of the Liberty Diner made her nerves tingle distractingly, and her gaze shifted automatically to her partner. His hand was draped nonchalantly over the steering wheel in a manner that oozed relaxtation, but she could tell by his clenched jaw and wandering eyes that he was anything but relaxed. Still, she had no idea whether his discomfort was because of the list tucked haphazardly into his belt, or just because he hated silence.

She reached out and taped his shoulder. "Hey Booth..."

"Yeah, Bones."

"What did Sweets mean when he said he was going to _pass a verdict _on our partnership?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I - I don't know, Bones, I haven't really thought about it."

_Liar._

She looked down at the list thoughtfuly.

"Booth, I think we have to do what he says."

He chuckled. "Yeah, well, Bones, I don't think we have much of a choice on this one."

She rolled her eyes. "You know that's not what I mean, Booth. I'm just saying that I think it's important that we - I just don't want them to spilt us up."

Booth turned to her, his grin melting. "Hey, Bones, you know that's not going to happen."

She looked away. "I just think whatever's on that list, we have to take it seriously, that's all."

He grinned again. "Hey, I'm always serious."

She couldn't supress a gentle smile "You're being sarcastic."

"No, I'm never sarcastic."

"Sarcasm isn't being serious."

He laughed lightly, and then turned to look at her earnestly.

"Look, Bones, when it comes to our partnership, I'm all in."

She nodded slowly. "I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I think I'm all in too."

"Okay," he pulled the keys out of the ignition and smiled over at her. "Now grab your list and let's go. I'm dying for some coffee, and there's a piece of cherry pie in there with my name on it."

"Booth, your getting pie all over your list."

He looked up distractedly. "That's alright, I'll just make a copy of yours."

She held her own list closer for examination. "You know, this is actually very well formatted. Sweets has made 4 main categories based on our living arrangements for the week, plus a series of sub-categories under each illustrating the tasks we'll have to perform during each."

"Yeah, well, we already knew the kid was a nerd. That's basically the only part of this whole thing that _wasn't _a surprise."

He looked down at his own copy.

_Case Study 108_

_Week One: Furnish appartment designated by the FBI_

_- Plan, prepare and eat all meals together _

_- Go shopping for livingroom furniature and decorations_

_- Paint the guest bedroom the color of your choice_

_- Program chanels for the television_

_- Move some of your own possessions into house_

_Week Two: Move in together_

_- Organize sleeping arrangements_

_- Organize transportation with FBI-issued vehicle_

_- Invite mutual friends over for dinner_

_- Invite Parker over for the week-end_

_- Take turns organizing a group activity for each night_

_Week Three: Road trip to Agent Stanfield's wedding _

_- Navigate your way to location of ceremony_

_- Spend at least two nights in a one-bedroom hotel room_

_- Go out for dinner somewhere fancy_

_- Buy clothing and a wedding gift for Agent Stanfield_

_- Go together to Agent Stanfield's wedding and reception_

Booth's mind was bombarded by a steady stream of questions, but he was gripped by a strange sort of nervous excitement that made it impossible to voice any of them. He smiled at his partner, who was sporting a similarily dazed expression, before returning his attention to his pie to hide his grin.

_All in._

A/N: If anyone has any ideas/ modifications for the list, it's not too late.. let me know before I start the next chapter if it seems to be going in the right direction.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - The apartment

_Week One: Furnish apartment designated by the FBI_

"Booth, how are we supposed to live here together, this place is tiny."

"Yeah tiny compared to your place maybe. Compared to mine, this is just _cozy_."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well I don't think it's cozy at all."

"Come on, try and be positive, Bones." He grinned. "We get to furnish it, remember? You know what I'm thinking?"

"Even less floor space?"

"Big, plasma screen TV."

"Booth..."

He ran over to the plain, white-wash wall of what must have been the living room. "Right here, can't you see it? Friday night football, movies, het I bet we could even get you the discovery channel."

She looked at him for a moment, ressembling a strangely overgrown child as he gestured excitedly to the open wall space beside him. His face was so hopeful, she couldn't argue.

"I guess it won't be so bad once we paint it..."

His smile faded. "Oh no, I know what you're thinking, and we are _not _painting this place red. And you know why? Because red is depressing Bones, and it's angry."

Her eyes widened. "Booth, there's nothing wrong with the colour red. In fact, to the Ancient Egyptians -"

"You know what, Bones? Really not the time for a history lesson. Besides, we're only allowed to paint the guest bedroom -"

"If we payed for the extra supplies, I'm sure the FBI wouldn't object to us painting other rooms aswell." The frowned. "Why does the FBI have appartments around DC anyways? I mean, I'm assuming they don't rent them just for partner-building exercises..."

Booth glaced down at his feet uncomfortably before looking back up at here. "Snipers use them. Clearer shot."

Her mouth opened slightly, but she didn't have time to formulate a response before the FBI agent who had accompanied them came back into the room from down the hall.

"If you two are ready, come on down this way and I'll show you the bedrooms. I don't mean to rush you, but there's somewhere I've gotta be..."

Booth nodded and walked past Brennan to accompany the agent. She took a minute to look around her quickly before following the two men.

The main living area of the house was basically a livingroom and a kitchen, separated only by a small kitchen island, placed where the linoleum floor ended and the carpet began. The entire back wall was covered in large windows, with a small deck. To her left was a along hall, down which she could now here Booth calling her.

"Hey, Bones, come look at this!"

She walked down to the first door on the left to see Booth lying on the double bed, mouth spread in a wide grin, as the matress flowed around his torso odly.

"Water bed, Bones! Come on, hop on!"

She smiled in spite of her self. "Booth, don't be ridiculous."

He sat up and patted the jiggling area beside him. "Come on, Bones, it won't bite. This room is so mine, by the way."

She began to make her way over to the space indicated by her partner. "That's fine with me; studies have shown that firmer matresses are better for-"

But her words were lost as she sank down onto the bed. Booth looked over at her, his grin widening another degree at her bemused expression.

"Nice, isn't it." He gave a little bounce, and she felt the water slosh underneath her.

"I'll have to admit, it is very relaxing."

She began to wiggle around experimentally herself when she caught the eye of the FBI agent, waiting patiently at the door, and quickly regained her composure.

"Come on, Booth, let's see the other 3 rooms."

Directly across the hall from Booth's room was another sizeable bedroom, furnished in the same manner except for its regular matress. Satisfied, they moved down the hall a little further to look at the plain guest bedroom, and then across to the hall to the washroom.

"Wait-" Booth looked uncomfortable as their accompanying agent opened the door to reveal a bathtub, toilet, and small sink. "This is the last door."

"That's correct, Agent Booth."

"That means there's only one bathroom."

"Correct again, Agent Booth."

Booth laughed uncortably and began to back away. "No, no, not going to happen."

Brennan looked confused. "What's not going to happen?"

He eyed the agent uncomfortably, before leaning towards his partner to whisper stubbornly. "We're not _sharing a bathroom_."

She frowned back at him. "I don't see what the problem is, Booth, it's not like we're going to be in there at the same time or anything."

His mouth opened slightly, and he wondered briefly if she could try and be a little less rational once in a while. "Yeah, but I keep my toothbrush in there, and you've got, you know, all your... _lady _things, and I just don't want to -" his eyesbrows raised in exasperation. "Come on, Bones can you honestly not see why this is bothering me?"

She shrugged and shook her head, and he groaned in frustration before turning to the agent, who was looking on with amusement.

"Thanks for the super tour, Agent Jeffery. I hate to see you go so soon, but I know you've got bigger fish to fry, so how about we call if we have any questions or concerns."

Still chuckling, the FBI agent left an aggrivated Booth and unphased Brennan to explore their new appartment.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everybody, this is my first story so the help and encouragement really does go a long way. I'm totally open to advice and suggestions, and the support's been great. You guys are loveeeely.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Shopping

_- Go shopping for living-room furniture and decorations_

"Hey Bones, it's me. Is it okay if I swing by in like ... 10 minutes? I was in the area, and I figured now would be a good time to go _shopping_."

Brennan could hear his grin over the phone. She kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet up onto the couch, slowly crossing her legs underneath her. "I don't know, Booth, I haven't even eaten yet..." Her voice was casual, but he could tell she was uneasy.

"Yeah, well, we'll eat while we set up the furniature. Besides - that's part of the deal, remember?"

As much as she hated disappointing him, something about the situation made her feel strangely agitated.

"Fine." She allowed a momentary pause before launching into meaningless ramble. "- but we have to remember to keep the receipts; they have to be sent to the FBI when we're done. And it would be irrational for us to purchase anything too large, since our apartment's tiny. And nothing too heavy either, because it'll be more efficient both for us to set it up ourselves."

He laughed to himself. "Got it covered, Bones. I'll be there in 5."

She put the phone down with a sigh. Normally, she had a case to distract herself with; it was more difficult than she had anticipated not going to work. Even though she'd rationalized the whole _apartment situation_ to herself many times over, it was still difficult not to draw parallels between fake-living-with-Booth and real-living-with-Booth, and, like she had done so many times before, she was desperate for a case to bury herself in.

But there was no case, so instead, she sat on her couch, distractedly humming to herself, until her partner's knock at the door sent her skidding bare-foot across the hardwood to meet him.

_Kinda fun. _

Smiling, she grabbed her coat and keys, and opened the door to meet him.

"Hey, you ready?"

He laughed. "Yeah, Bones, I am, but I think _you _forgot something." Raising his eyebrows indicatively, he nodded his head towards her toes. "Ladies and gentleman, the Barefoot Contessa. Got a bit of a hobbit thing going on down there, Bones."

She looked down at her toes and heard herself chuckle with embarrassment. Pushing a pair of flats on hurriedly, she locked the door behind her and followed Booth down the hall.

"Hey Booth, wait up ... What's a hobbit?"

...

Usually, Booth was not one to spend inordinate amounts of money on furniture. Usually, he didn't spend that much money on anything at all aside from food and rent. But, as nothing about this assignment, or his relationship with Dr Brennan, was even remotely close to usual, he soon found himself standing in an exotic and expensive furniture store while his partner educated him on the anthropological significance of exotic woods, the names of which had so few vowels that they were virtually impossible to pronounce unless you had a bad cold.

As her speech moved on to the chemical properties of the stain used on this wood, he took advantage of her distraction to sit gingerly on the chair, testing it for comfort.

"Ah, jeez, Bones, we're not buying this."

She looked at him incredulously, mouth still half-open from being cut off mid-rant. "Why not, Booth, it's a perfectly good couch. Extremely well made."

He eased himself back up, wincing slightly against the rigid wood as he did so. "Because, Bones, no one can sit in this thing. And you know why? Because no ones butt is _square._"

She put her hand on her hips. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Yeah, you sure about that, Bones? Why don't you come on over here and sit down." He sank back down into his former position, smile brightening as he patted the spot beside him.

She rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth flickering upwards as she made her way over. "I've bought plenty of furniture here before and it's always been-" her eyes widened as she took her place beside Booth, and she turned to face him, grimacing. "This is even worse than the chairs in Dr Sweet's office."

He laughed appreciatively, nudging her gently. "Hey, that was pretty funny, Bones."

They grinned at each other for several moments, and then his smile faded as his eyes rested on hers. When he began to speak again, it was more quietly.

"So ... we should get out of here."

Her eyes flickered uncomfortably with the change in tone, and she stood up, clearing her throat.

"Yeah, let's go. Since we're limited by the financial constraints set by the FBI anyways, we might as well look for a more affordable alternative."

His smile returned as he followed her out of the store. "Yeah, that's right, 'cause we've gotta save some money for that flat-screen."

...

Eventually, Booth and Brennan came up with their own sort of bartering system to choose the living room furnishings. She was allowed the red couch if he could have the bigger TV, and he could have the chair with the foot-rest if he let her buy the rug with the African print. After an afternoon of bickering and driving, they finally managed to accumulate a set of items that suited both Brennan's taste and Booth's comfort.

But, since affodable usually means 'do it yourself', they still had an evening left of assembling coffee tables and bookshelves, and neither of them had eaten since breakfast, aside from the half-a-cookie Booth had found in his pocket earlier. Now, they were driving back towards the apartment in the SUV, silent except for the sound of Booth's groaning stomach. He sighed loudly.

"I'm hungry."

She smirked, eyebrows raised suggestively as she glanced toward his abdomen. "I can tell."

He turned to her. "Look, I know Sweets wants us to, you know, plan all these _elaborate _meals for ourselves, but I'm thinking we've got a lottt of work ahead of us, and now just seems like a really good time for a nice _grilled cheese sandwich_." He flashed her a grin. "Come on, what d'ya say?"

Brennan smiled back thoughtfully. "My dad used to make grilled cheese for us a lot when we were kids." She paused, her face becoming more serious. "I tried to make it once after he left, but it didn't exactly work out."

Booth frowned. "What do you mean?"

She turned to him, wincing in embarassement. "I burned it."

He laughed. "You've had the periodic table memorized since you could talk, but you can't make a grilled cheese sandwich?"

She opened her mouth incredulously. "Well, they are two _very_ different things, Booth."

He took a sharp left into a grocery store parking lot as he continued. "Look, Bones, say what you want, but life isn't life without grilled cheese, so..." he flashed her his charm smile again, "grilled cheese it is."

...

Brennan sat on the living-room carpet, surrounded by boxes of all sizes, scattered hapharardly across the floor. Normally, she would have preferred to have eaten in the kitchen on a proper table, or at one of the bar stools set up against the island, but tonight, the fire crackling softly in the grate made the almost-empty room the most comfortable one in the house.

She had been banned from the kitchen while Booth set everything up to make grilled cheese, so she spent several minutes on the phone with Angela while she waited for him to let her in. Things at the Jeffersonian had been slow since she left, but had made her friend promise to keep her updated if anything big came in; even if she couldn't go to work, she was still determined to contribute as much as she could to the more difficult cases.

"Sweetie, I get that you care about your work, but I'm dying to hear how it's going with Booth."

"We just got back from shopping for living-room furniature."

Angela waited for a moment to make sure her friend wasn't going to elaborate on her own.

"...And?"

"We got a couch. - A red one."

"Anything else?"

Brennan opened her mouth to reply when Booth's grinning face popped into view, and he began gesturing wildly towards the kitchen.

"No, not - not really. Look, Ange, I've gotta go. Keep me updated on everything, okay? And say hi to Hodgins for me."

She could hear Angela's smile from across the phone line as she replied. "Okay, bye sweetie. You have fun with Booth."

The phone line went dead, and Angela shook her head, smiling. _Some things never get dull._

A/N: Next chapter they'll make/eat the grilled cheese. Or, if that's boring, we'll skip that and go right to decorating. It's pretty much your call, so let me know. Love you guys for sticking with this story.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Grilled cheese

- _Plan, prepare and eat all meals while together_

Brennan gingerly slid the spatula under the grilled cheese sandwich, tongue out and brow furrowed in concentration. With one quick motion, she flipped it over on the hot pan to reveal a perfectly golden side. Booth grinned down at her proudly, clapping her on the shoulder. "Look, Bones, you didn't even burn this one."

She frowned at him. "Booth, stop it, I need to concentrate on the second side."

His smile fell with mock seriousness, and his voice dropped nearly to a whisper. "Sorry Bones."

She looked back down at her sandwich, biting her lip as she slid the spatula under one more time.

"Plate?"

Booth turned around and grabbed for the plastic plate on the counter behind him, already sporting several badly burned attempts. He brought it around beside her so she could flip the sandwich onto it as he had taught her.

"Plate."

With two hands, she lifted her creation off the pan and flipped it into the air. Her eyes widened as she watched it arc upwards enthusiastically, missing the plate on its way to the floor. Booth swooped and caught it instinctively, wincing as his fingers met with its hot surface. He dropped it onto the counter, shaking out his sore hand.

"Jeez, Bones, a little less enthusiasm next time."

But his wince turned to a smile as he looked at the sandwich on the counter. "Hey, look at it. It's perfect."

She looked over, surprised. "It is?"

He grinned. "Yeah, look, see how the sides are all evenly toasted? None of them are black? Now _that's_ how grilled cheese is _supposed _to look. Hey, I think this one has earned itself a place on the good plate, where, so far, only _my_ sandwiches have gone."

He slid a spatula under the offending sandwich and expertly flipped it onto a second plate, now full of perfectly toasted grilled cheese. She looked over at her own sorry pile, blackened and burned.

"We should eat those ones, too, Booth, it's a waste of ingredients."

His face fell. "Uh - yeah. Maybe after we're done these ones -"

She follwed him into the next room, where the fire was still cracking, and sat down near the hearth. Booth pulled over a box to rest the plate on, and then began to make his way back towards the kitchen. "Hold on a minute, Bones, I'll be right back. I've just gotta take off this apron." He pointed at her, narrowing his eyes. "Don't start without me."

She laughed lightly as she heard him disappear, and then return, apron-less and carrying a stack of napkins. He sat down across from her in front of the fire, handed her half the pile, and turned to the plate, smiling at her proudly from across the box when she scootched over to join him. "Look at that, Bones, yours is the best one."

She smiled too, looking down at her sandwich. "It is?"

He nodded, meeting her eyes for a moment before turning his attention back to the plate. "Now hurry up and dig in, they get cold fast."

They both turned back to face the fire, each with a grilled cheese in hand, but she could feel him watching her out of the corner of his eye as she bit into her sandwich. Gooey cheese stretched from her mouth to her bite mark in the lightly crisped crust, and she shook her head slightly to try and break it.

Booth smiled over as he watched her, struggling with the string of cheese, face full of concentration. He chewed on his own sandwich, waiting for her to say something. When the cheese finally broke, her head slowly turned towards him, swallowing.

"For such a simple mix of ingredients, I have to admit that this is actually very good."

He smiled. "Told ya so."

She rolled her eyes, smiling also, as she turned back towards the fire and relaxed back against another box.

"You know, I've been missing work all day, but this is kinda nice."

He looked over at her, surprised, and his face broke into a wide smile.

"Yeah - it is."

She glanced sideways at him, eyes dancing in the flickering firelight.

"Umm, Bones, you've got some, uh, cheese on your chin."

He nodded his head towards her mouth, and she began to wipe at her face blindly with the edge of her napkin. She could hear him laughing beside her.

"Here, wait, wait." He turned to put his grilled cheese back on he plate. "I'll get it."

Looking down at her own chin, she leaned in towards him. Frowning in concentration, he moved in closer and reached out, taking the offending piece of cheese carefully between his thumb and forefinger, and pulling it free. He let it drop between them and then raised his eyes to hers, just as she looked up at him. They watched each other for a moment, her smiling awkwardly, him calmly serious, before his eyes dropped again uncomfortably.

"Got it." He mumbled to his toes, rubbing his neck.

Then, he stood up abruptly, popping the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. "I think I'll go, uh - clean up the kitchen. It's getting late, and we should get started pretty soon."

She began to rise also, brushing crumbs from her pants as she did so. "Let me help you, I made most of the mess anyways."

"No, it's fine, you haven't finished your grilled cheese yet." He looked down at the full plate, and then back up at her. "I've go it covered, Bones, you just eat up."

And he walked backwards out of the room, disappearing towards the island. She could hear the water running, and Booth shuffling awkwardly around the kitchen as he cleaned up.

Shrugging, she turned back towards the fire and grabbed another grilled cheese, taking extra care this time to keep her chin _clean._

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews... there are a few I've really wanted to reply to, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet, so if anyone could let me know, that would be pretty excellent.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Coffee Tables and Blankets

Aside from the big red couch Brennan had insisted upon buying, everything in the living-room was still in boxes. Booth returned from the kitchen to find his partner already removing Styrofoam, sorting screws, and matching them with various screwdrivers. Though the sight didn't surprise him in the least, where exactly the tools came from, he would never find out.

She was sitting on the carpet with her back facing Booth, and from what he could tell, she hadn't noticed him behind her yet. Taking a deap breath, he willed his face into what he hoped looked like a relaxed smile, and walked over casually, hands in his pockets.

"Hey, Bones, you started without me."

She squined up at him in the half-light, head tilted slightly. "Yeah, well, you wouldn't let me help you in the kitchen, so I figured I'd get going on this instead."

"You know, Bones, sometimes I think you forget how to just - you know - _relax."_

She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the piles of hardware in front of her. He watched her frown in concentration as she examined two of the nails by the firelight. After a moment, she looked back up towards him, eyebrows raised.

"Well? Are you gonna come down here and help me, or not."

Smiling, he eased himself down on the floor across from her, helping sort through the pile of screws between them as he began a conversation.

"So... what exactly are we making?"

"It's our coffee table."

He scoffed. "All these screws just for a tiny little coffee table?"

She raised her eyebrows. "The black one would have had far fewer screws."

He looked over at her. "I told you, Bones, I'm not buying a coffee table with a face, okay?" She began to open her mouth, but he cut her off. "And I don't care how many Mennonite children carved it, so let's not even go there again."

"I'm just saying, it was a very nice coffee table."

"Yeah, well ... don't."

She looked across at him, frowning. "You're very testy today, Booth."

"I'm not testy - I just don't like to waste my time having the same conversation over and over."

"You're testy."

"I don't get testy."

She put down the screws in her hand, and he looked up at her. "If something is bothering you, Booth, the paramaters of this exercise imply that you're supposed to ... discuss it with me."

"You mean, something besides the whole coffee table thing? Because we've already discussed that."

She stared at him blankly.

He paused, slightly confused. "Wait - are you serious?"

Her expression remained vacant. "I - don't understand how this could be a joke."

The screws were now sorted, so Booth began removing the larger pieces of the table as he began.

"It's - you know - it's all these hoops Sweets is making us jump through." He tossed her the instruction manual. "Here, it's in Swedish, Bones, knock yourself out."

She caught it easily, opening it to the first page, as he coninued: "I just don't like feeling like I don't have any say over what happens to me or my partner."

"You were the one who said they weren't going to split us up."

"Yeah, well, I guess I just don't like the idea that they can." He picked up a wooden peg and began pushing it into the end of one of the table legs forcefuly, but he couldn't fit it properly into the hole, and after a moment, it popped back out. Frustrated, he picked it up and tried again. "It's just, you know, I like the system we've got. Catching bad guys."

She nodded. "Me too... And you're putting that into the wrong hole; move it over one to the left."

He frowned at her, momentarily distracted as he nodded towards the instruction manuel in her lap. "Wait a minute - you understand that thing?"

The corner of her mouth twitched into a half-smile. "Not at all, but it has pictures."

...

Booth's forehead was scrunched comically in concentration as he he inserted the last peg into what was now one the base of their coffee table. She gave him a moment to proudly admire his handiwork before interrupting the silence.

"Hey, Booth, why do you think they're putting us through all of this if they're not going to spilt us up anyways?"

He took a moment choosing a screwdriver before starting in attaching one of his newly formed legs to the table top. "I don't know, Bones. Sweets has a weird sense of humour. Here-" he tossed her a second screwdriver, "you get started on that side."

She carefully selected a screw and began to attach the other table leg. "It seems irrational to put us through all of this if its a joke."

He stopped screwing for a minute and looked up at her. "Look, Bones, whatever they're trying to figure out, it's not because they want to split us up, it's because they want to keep us together. Just try and have a little faith, okay?"

She put down her own screwdriver and sighed, lying back on the carpet. "I suppose that makes sense."

He righted the now completed coffee table, clapping proudly. "Hey, look at that Bones, not bad at all."

After taking a minute to admire his creation, he flopped down beside her, putting his hands behind his head in a position that mirrored hers, and closing his eyes. "Ahhhh, nothing like a solid day of tough manual labour."

She looked over at him, blinking tiredly. "We've only finished one coffee table. What time is it?"

"Late." He mumbled.

She drummed her fingers lightly against her stomach. "How late?"

He exhaled slowly, eyes still shut."Too late."

She leaned in closer to him, lowering her voice.

"Would you rather finish tomorrow?"

Booth nodded drowsily.

"Should I drive us home?"

He shook his head, and a slight frown spread across his face at the thought of her behind the wheel of his SUV.

She propped herself up on one elbow, trying to think. "I guess we could just sleep on our new beds for tonight. I'll go grab some extra blankets from the hall closet; we're not scheduled to move in until next week, so the heat's still turned down."

Booth didn't reply as she got up and walked towards the bedrooms, opening the thin door at the end of the hallway and pulling out several fleecy blankets. She was about to put one in each of their bedrooms when she realized that she had no pyjamas. Frowning, she made her way back out towards the living-room, blankets still in hand.

"Hey, Booth, we don't have any-" she stopped mid-sentance as she noticed his steady breathing and relaxed face. Smiling softly to herself at the sight of him, sprawled across the floor fully dressed, fast asleep in front of the waning remains of the fire, she tip-toed her way over to the empty patch of floor she had just vacated, grabbing a pillow off the box-covered couch on the way, and settled down beside him.

Unfolding the two blankets, she tucked the first one around herself, and then draped the second one carefully over Booth, holding her breath as she did so so as not to disturb his sleep. When she had managed to cover him as sufficiently as possible with the small piece of fabric, she moved back onto her own pillow, adjusting herself against the hard floor. Normally, it took her a long time to fall asleep, especially when her thoughts were as occupied as they were tonight, but with her partner's rhythmic breathing to her left, and the gentle warmth of the fireplace to her right, she was fast asleep before she even had a chance to psych herslef out over the idea of sleeping next to Booth.

A/N: Next chapter is the apartment-painting chapter. And I'm thinking Sweets is going to make another appearance? Love the reviews, guys.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - The Morning After

_- Program channels for the television_

If your trying to give yourself a stiff neck, sleeping on the floor would probably be one of your best options. A dull pain lulled Brennan into consciousness, and she was suddenly very aware of her hip digging into the hard ground beneath her. Moaning lightly, she rolled over onto her back, massaging her hip bone as she tried to figure out why she was so uncomfortable. _I had a pillow. _

Reluctantly, she opened an eye. The grayish half-light floating in through the windows of the adjacent room placed the time at somewhere around 5 in the morning. Wincing, she pushed herself up onto her elbows, still trying to remember how she had gotten onto the floor in the first place, and wondering mildly why she was so cold. The answer was sprawled out beside her, lying on her pillow with her blanket pulled across his chest.

Her initial surprise at seeing Booth beside her was quickly replaced by an overwhelming sense of awkwardness. She opened and shut her mouth, looking around the room instinctively to make sure no had seen her there. Something about the situation made her feel strangely guilty, like she had taken advantage of something; she never would have set up camp beside him if he would have been awake when she walked in, so something about doing it when he was asleep seemed almost underhanded.

Of course, the decision had had nothing to do with wanting to sleep next to him. She could have just has easily gone back to her own bed and spent a comfortable night with a pillow and blankets, on a proper mattress. She hadn't stayed because of how relaxed he looked splayed out in front of the fire, or the way his face had been squished comically against the floor. It wasn't about him at all - she had just been tired.

But, as cold and tired as she still was, her conscience wouldn't let her lie back down, so, forcing herself to ignore the corner of Booth's blanket that had slipped invitingly onto the ground beside him, she got up before he could realize that he hadn't spent the night alone.

Grimacing, she hobbled into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. As it brewed, she craned her neck just enough to catch a glimpse of him in the living-room, making sure he was still asleep. When the coffee was ready, she poured herself a cup and made her way into her bedroom, messing up the bed to make it look slept in, before walking back down the hall. When she returned to the main part of the apartment, the sun was just coming up. She watched it for a minute, and then turned back towards the living-room, allowing herself another glace at Booth.

He hadn't budged since she'd made her hasty exit nearly an hour ago. She walked over towards him, her footfalls purposely loud. _Nothing_. After observing him for another moment, she made her way over the threshold towards the big red couch beside him, humming experimentally. When she reached the couch, she glanced around the room awkwardly, before letting herself drop loudly onto it. The springs creaked, and her elbow banged painfully against the arm rest, but Booth didn't seem to notice. Satisfied that she was in no danger of waking him up, Brennan heaved herself off the couch, massaging her sore elbow, and got to work assembling the rest of the furniture.

...

By 10 o'clock, two bookshelves, a TV stand, Booth's new armchair, and several pictures, had joined the couch and coffee table in the living-room. Brennan had managed to assemble everything around the still-sleeping Booth, and now, the only item that still remained unsettled was the expansive flat-screen. After taking a moments to admire her handiwork, Brennan wandered into the kitchen to start breakfast, stealing a quick glance at her partner as she left.

Booth had slept through hours of banging, hammering, and dragging, but the smell of bacon had him on his feet within minutes. Brennan smiled as she saw him shuffling into the kitchen, looking groggy. His hair stuck up on one side, and his cheek was sporting a large red mark from where it had been pushed against the floor for the better part of the night. Squinting in the morning light now streaming through the window, he made his way over to his partner and sat down at the island across from where she was making breakfast.

"Morning, Bones."

She gave him a half-smile. "You look like you slept well."

He laughed dryly. "Oh yeah, i slept _great._"

"I'm sorry I let you sleep on the floor."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Besides-" he flashed her a grin, "I noticed you brought me some blankets."

She smiled awkwardly, dropping her gaze before looking back up at him. "Well, you were going to be stiff anyways. I didn't want you to be cold, too."

He grinned back at her until she looked away again, and then got up and walked around the island to stand beside her. When she didn't seem to notice, he cleared his throat loudly. "So - what can I do to help?"

She shrugged. "Nothing, really. It'll be ready in a minute."

He rocked back on his heels. "Are you sure? Because, I've got - you know - two good hands." He help them up in demonstration. "See? Helping hands."

She rolled her eyes. "Booth, I'm fine."

He whistled loudly, still rocking back and forth on his heels. After a minute, she stopped what she was doing and turned to face him, hand on hip. "Booth, you're hovering."

He froze, mid-rock. "What?"

"I'm trying to concentrate, and you're hovering."

He opened his mouth, then shut it again. "You know, Bones, sometimes, you can be a _little _snotty."

"I'm not being snotty, Booth, it's a legitimate request -"

"Yeah, well, you know - I did offer to help, but you said no." He raised his hands again for emphasis. "You said no to my helping hands."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, why don't you and your helping hands go set the table - this is ready anyways."

He grinned excitedly, grabbing a handful of cutlery and two plates. "That's what I'm talking about, Bones. See - _now _we're working to our full symbiotic potential."

She laughed lightly, shaking her head, and then made her way over the table to serve breakfast on the plates Booth had laid out.

...

Breakfast passed without any mention of where Brennan had slept the previous night, and, after putting the dishes into the washer next to the grilled cheese provisions from preceding evening, they made their way back into the living-room so Booth could set up the TV. It was on the stand in no time, and they settled onto the red couch to thumb through the list of available channels together.

Booth needed his sports (_come on, Bones, Friday night football_), and Brennan insisted on a good news and weather channel. After this initial agreement, they spent the next half-hour arguing over which other channels they would actually watch. Somehow, they managed to settle on several movie channels, a comedy channel, and some sort of mystery channel _(you know, Booth, these shows are very rarely scientifically acurate)_.

After several tries, Booth figured out how to select the channels they wanted, and Brennan got up to take a quick shower as he programmed them into the TV. As he sumbitted the last channel she had ticket off on their guide, something caught his eye, and he hurriedly added one more title to the list, smiling to himself as he looked at the screen:

_The Discovery Channel._

Hey, if this is what it took to get her to watch TV with him, he was game.

After doing a quick shoulder check to make sure she wasn't coming back any time soon, he picked up the remote again and settled back into the new couch, exhaling deeply. _Time for some afternoon football._

**A/N:** I've been trying to find a way to get them back into a more familiar setting once in a while, but it's kinda tough - suggestions? Thanks as always for the feedback, you guys are heroes.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 - Two Stooges

_- Paint the guest bedroom the color of your choice_

They were three days into their first week, and already, they'd nearly finished all their challenges. Booth wanted to spend as much time as possible with Parker before the new living arrangements were officially instated, and Brennan had been away from the lab and her squints for the longest time in recent memory, so, since they were ahead of schedule anyways, they decided to take some time to tend to their personal lives before painting the guest bedroom.

After spending the morning at the lab (_"Bren, you're not supposed to be working, remember?"_), Angela treated her friend to a plate of fries and 45 minutes of good-natured pestering about Booth before she had to return to the Jeffersonian to finish a reproduction of a burned letter. Since Cam had warned Brennan not to come back to the lab in the off-chance she might try to help with the case again, she found herself once again with nothing to do. She was driving back towards her own house, but something about the idea of being by herself at the FBI apartment seemed a lot less lonely than the idea of being by herself at home, and, making a mental note to avoid asking herself why that was, she took a left along the already-familiar road.

She let herself in at the door, grabbed a water out of the fridge, and stood in the kitchen, suddenly at a loss for what to do. It had only been since she had been forced to _stop_ working that she had realized for the first time what an integral part of her life her work really was. Nearly everything she did outside of the lab was centred around what she did _in_ the lab, and when that was taken away, she felt strangely useless.

Dealing with boredom was not one of Dr Brennan's areas of expertise. If she were at home, she would have picked up one of her books and started to read, but she hadn't had the chance to move any of them into the new apartment yet, so instead, she took her water and began walking curiously towards the living room. Since her parents had left, she hadn't had much interest in watching TV, but Booth's excitement over the new flat-screen had somehow managed to rub off on her.

But as she walked passed the island that separated the kitchen from the main living area, the sound of soft laughter and the rustling of a bag coming from the living-room startled her out of her curiosity. As she slowly stepped around the corner, picking up a paper weight off a nearby table as she did so, she saw the back of Booth's head, peaking over the top of the red couch, as he watched an old The Stooges movie with the sound down.

"Booth-"

He turned his head mid-laugh, and his grin melted into a look of embarrassment.

"Bones. What - what are you doing here?" He stammered, trying as he did so to hide his extra-large bag of potato chips noisily under a pillow.

She shrugged, ignoring his clumsy attempt to stow his snack. "I got bored. Where's Parker?"

"He had a birthday party, Bones. You know, six-year-old stuff." He distractedly brushed her question aside before proceeding with his line of inquiry, chips finally out of the way. "But I still don't see why you came _here. _I mean - it's not like we've moved in yet or anything."

She looked at her feet quickly, and by the time she met his eyes again, the smile was already back on his face. "Waaaait a minute, Bones - did you come here to watch TV?"

She couldn't control her own guilty smile. "Booth, that's ridiculous."

His grin widened. "Well, all I can say is, you're lucky I'm here, Bones. This way one of us has a little - you know - _taste._"

She looked at him incredulously. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with my taste in movies, Booth."

He scoffed. "You don't _have_ a taste in movies, Bones, because, you know what? You never _watch _movies."

She frowned. "That's not true; I've watched plenty of movies."

"Not since disco died."

"Yes I have-"

"Yeah, well, it doesn't count if it's subtitled, or doesn't have any - you know - vowels in the title. "

She raised an eyebrow. "That was a very ignorant comment, Booth."

He sighed. "Look, Bones, I've got the TV, the movies, and there's some chips hidden under that pillow over there, so - what else are you waiting for?"

After a moment, she smiled and started to make her way over. "What kind of chips?"

...

As the final credits began to roll, Brennan turned to a brightly grinning Booth, his eyes still glued to the screen. She raised a finger and tapped his shoulder gently to get his attention, and he looked towards her just as she bit into another chip. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment, before voicing an idea.

"You know, Booth, it's only 2:30 - if we wanted, we'd have time to go buy paint for the guest bedroom."

"Yeah, sure, Bones, and then we'd start painting, and the next thing you know - I'm waking up on the floor with a stiff neck."

Her eyes flickered away, and she raised a hand subconsciously to rub her own neck. They turned back towards the credits for a moment before Booth spoke, slower this time.

"Well, I guess if we were just going to _buy _paint -"

She nodded. "No sleepovers this time."

He suddenly began to stand. "I'll grab my keys."

"And I'll - try and turn this thing off."

"Meet you at the door, Bones." He turned to her once more as he rushed out of the room, raising a finger warningly. "And _don't _break the TV."

She rolled her eyes as he disappeared out of the room, before turning to the flat-screen, hands on hips.

"Now - how do I turn you off?"

...

"Booth, we're not painting the guest room blue."

"Why not? It's Parker's favorite color."

"Because Parker won't be the only one staying in that room. And because it doesn't go with any of the furniture."

"So we'll get new furniature."

"What are you proposing, Booth - a bed shaped like a car? - Or perhaps a lamp shaped like a farm animal would be more suitable."

He opened his mouth quickly, but shut it again after a moment. Instead, he just frowned at her, before turning and walking away. She jogged to keep up with him, still talking.

"Hey, Booth, how about that rug over there? It's not blue, but it _does _look like a hamburger."

It took them a while, but they finally manadged to pick a neutral color that they both could live with. They were at the checkout when Brennan turned to a grumpy Booth, looking to make amends.

"You know, Angela and Hodgins are supposed to be coming for dinner next week, and I thought maybe they could stay over. But after that, we can always re-do the room. I mean - so that Parker would like it." She looked away nervously, but Booth's mood lightened immediately.

"Are you serious, Bones?"

She shrugged. "I don't see why not. I like painting, and I _did _set up all the furniture in the living-room-"

He raised a finger. "Hey, that's not true, Bones ... _I helped with the coffee table_."

She smiled apprehensively, and he grinned back, clapping her on the shoulder.

"Hey ... thanks."

After paying for their paint, a considerably happier Booth drove them back to the apartment. As they neared their destination, he turned to his partner, interrupting her reverie as he began to speak.

"Hey, Bones, what do you think Sweets meant when he said they'd arranged our transportation for us? I mean - they're not gonna take away by SUV are they?"

It was hard not to smile at his expression of complete devastation. "I don't know, Booth, we can ask him at our next session."

He shook his head. "No, we can't, because that's the day before we move in, and by then it might be - you know - too late."

She paused for a moment to think before proceeding more quietly. "It would probably be better not to bring it up with Sweets at all, Booth; I mean, I'm sure he probably has some psychological explanation for you attachment to this car."

"Oh, come on. Like what?"

She paused again, eyebrows raised as she looked him over. "You know what they say about men with big cars."

He looked back at her, flabbergasted. "_You _do?"

She turned back forwards smugly, and he continued to stare at her, mouth gaping slightly.

_Maybe a smaller car wouldn't be so bad for a week._

_..._

A/N: This chapter was starting to run on, and I wanted to have an entire chapter for the whole painting process, so I decided to cut it off here and actually start the painting next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews - I'm sure most of you get how great it is to have them, and they've given me some good ideas.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 - Painting

_- Paint the guest bedroom the color of your choice_

Painting a room is a lot more work that people think; you need a lot of supplies, a lot of preparation, and a _lot _of paint. The room always looks a little off, with tape running along the ceiling and floor and furniture piled haphazardly into its centre, and being cooped up for hours on end repeating the same motion over and over while your arms slowly turn to jello can make you feel a little crazy. Of course, with the bad, there's also a lot of good; painting a room is a ready-made excuse to put on ratty old clothes and listen to loud music, and when you're finally finished, you can't help but feel a little proud.

Brennan attempted to push a strand of hair out of her eyes with a clean wrist, unknowingly smearing a line of paint across her forehead as she did so. Her wall was nearly finished; she had been repainting the back of the room for the past several hours, while Booth did the wall beside her. They had been slowly working their way towards each other since they'd started, and as Brennan took another step to her right, she felt a solid torso bump up against her shoulder. Her mouth opened slightly as she looked at the first imperfection on her wall, and she lowered her roller in exasperation.

"Aw, Booth, look what you did."

His mouth opened indignantly. "What I did? Bones - you bumped into me!"

They looked at each-other for a moment, her with a hand on her hip, him crossing his arms defensively. As he scanned her face, he noticed a streak of paint across her forehead, and he slowly began to smile.

"What, Booth?"

"Nothing. It's just - you've got a -" he gestured to his own face.

She frowned. "I've got a what?"

"You know, a little - on your forehead-"

He continued to gesture, and she continued to stare at him dumbly. Finally, he sighed.

"You painted your forehead, Bones."

She raised an eyebrow, and her eyes wandered down his body. "I'm not the dirty one here, Booth."

He looked down at his own sweats, which were speckled head-to-toe with paint, before gazing back at her perfectly clean jeans and tank-top. After a moment, he scoweled. "Why'd we pick such a boring color, anyways?"

She looked around the room. "I think it must have been to match the boring furniature... You know, I'm starting to think we should have gotten the blue after all."

He grinned, pointing at her smugly. "I told you, Bones - see? I was right."

She frowned at his finger for a moment, and his smile faded. "Let's just finish the room up and get out of here, shall we?"

He turned back towards his wall, dipping his roller, and she shrugged. "I'm nearly finished anyways. We're running low on paint, though, so try not to waste any more on your clothes."

He stopped painting once again to look at her. "You know what, Bones? I'm a little tired of you ragging on my clothes, okay?"

She smiled as she surveyed his tattered sweats again. "_Ragging?_"

"Okay, enough."

He bent down, coating a nearby brush in sticky paint, and flicked it at her. Brennan gasped as beige spattered across her chest, and Booth laughed smugly. Pursing her lips angrily, she reached out and swiped him with her wet roller.

He took a moment to be relieved she hadn't hit him before running his hand over his wet arm and reaching out to give her a large hand print on her shoulder.

Her shoulders fell, and she took a moment to pout at her ruined shirt. "Now you're really wasting paint."

He shrugged. "Never start something you can't finish, Bones."

Then, smiling, he swooped to pick up the half-full can of paint he had been using. She shook her head frantically, hastily backing towards the last un-finished wall. "Booth, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Yeah, you're just saying that because _I'm _the one holding the can full of paint."

Her eyes were wide, but she was smiling.

"Come on, Bones, I'm just trying to make the paint a little less boring." And he heaved the contents of the can towards her.

_Splat. _

She grimaced exaggeratedly at her paint-covered clothing. Booth laughed excitedly as he watched her, but he was suddenly distracted as he glanced at the wall.

"Hey, Bones, hey - look at that."

After glancing at him with confusion, she turned towards the wall.

"Oh, wow."

He smiled as they stepped back to admire their handiwork.

"See, Bones, which one of is the artist now?"

On the formerly white wall was a silhouette of Brennan, arms raised to shield herself against the paint, surrounded by flecks of beige that radiated out in every direction.

She nodded appreciately. "I would say that was well worth the wasted paint. It certainly provides the room with a point of interest."

He shrugged. "It _was_ a kinda boring room."

"Definitely."

As he continued to be enamoured by the wall, she averted her attention back to her shirt. Using a hand to swipe up as much paint as possible, she casually wiped a long streak across the side of Booth's face. He didn't look away from the wall, but his expression fell immediately. Smiling smugly, she cleaned her hands on her jeans, before turning and walking out of the room.

She paused in the doorway and turned back to the sad-looking Booth."Would you like a towel?"

...

A/N: Okay, so that's two chapters in one day, but I might still post another, because there's only one challenge left until they move in together, and I've got to admit I'm kinda excited. Thanks for sticking with it.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – The Day Before

_- Move some of your own possessions into the house_

The first week was up, and as the apartment was now full of Brennan and Booths' possessions, they found themselves spending more and more time there as she moving date approached.

Of course, before the big day, they still had to attend their weekly meeting with Sweets to discuss the week's events and talk about how their relationship was progressing.

"Dr Brennan, Agent Booth - how are you?"

"Yeah, hi, Sweets, always a pleasure."

Booth plopped down in front of Sweet's desk, and Brennan eased herself down in the seat beside him.

"So, how have you two been?"

He grinned at them enthusiastically, and Booth raised an eyebrow.

"We've been, fine, thanks - look I've got somewhere to be, so can we- you know - speed this whole process up a bit?"

"Why is that, Agent Booth? Is there anything you're trying to avoid discussing?"

Booth stared at him for a long moment before slumping back into his chair. "Fine, Sweets, proceed as usual. You have my full cooperation."

Sweets grinned. "Thank you, Agent Booth. So, to start off, how did the challenges go?"

"Well, Sweets, I don't know if you got the memo, but Bones and I - we capture murderers together, so, you know - after that, setting up a coffee table doesn't seem _quite _so difficult."

"You're being sarcastic, Agent Booth."

"He has a point, though, Dr Sweets. I mean, Booth and I are at the top of our field; it seems counterproductive to suspend us both from work just so we can be lab rats for your study."

Sweets sighed. "I've already explained this to the two of you - it will be better for your partnership in the long run if I - wait a second. You know exactly why you're not allowed to be working - you planned this to try and trick me into letting you back into the field, didn't you?"

He looked at them for a moment, and Brennan crossed her arms in frustration. "How can you even test the effects of these exercises on our professional relationship if we _have _no professional relationship."

"The way you deal with the challenges given to you each week simulates the way you would deal with a crisis in your working relationship. Since you've been successful so far, I assume that your work with the FBI and Jeffersonian institute would be equally intact."

Booth smiled. "Wait - does that mean we're doing well?"

Sweets smiled back. "Very well, Agent Booth."

Brennan continued to frown. "Why can't you just observe our professional relationship at work instead of making us do all these - challenges?"

"The challenges are much easier to monitor, Dr Brennan, and considerably less stressful. Look, I know it's not in your nature, but can you please just trust me on this one? Everything will come out eventually, I promise."

She squinted at him suspiciously, then looked towards Booth, who just shrugged.

"Fine. We trust you"

Sweets smiled widely. "Excellent; now let's talk about your week."

...

They left Sweets' office feeling strangely used, each holding an itinerary for the next day. They were going to meet at a car dealership, where they would be given the new car they'd be sharing for the next few weeks (_They're taking my wheels? Can they even do that?_), after which the rest of their furniture would be moved into the house, and they would be required to submit the keys to their own apartments to the FBI for the remainder of the study.

They'd been very professional so far, with only a few minor incidents, but after their meeting, they were both harbouring unspoken uncertainties about what could happen in the upcoming weeks. Brennan knew it would be a lot harder not to think about Booth when they were sharing 1000 square feet and a bathroom, and Booth was afraid he would have trouble looking at Brennan professionaly when she was wearing PJs or brushing her teeth.

Still, whether it was because they were afraid to discuss it or just because ignoring things like this had become a tradition for them, they talked only of work and furniature when they went to the Liberty Diner for lunch after their meeting, ignored Cam's inquiry into their living arrangements when they stopped by the Jerrefsonian later to check in, and kept their bickering to the subect of music as Booth drove Brennan home before their last night apart.

Still, as she walked up the steps to her apartment and let herslef in the front door, Brennan was nagged by nervous excitement, accompanied closely by a perpetual guilt for feeling that way. She dropped her keys on the table in her foyer and leaned against the wall, rubbing her temples methodically.

_Well, whatever happened, she could safely say she wasn't going to get bored._

...

A/N: Okay, so it was a short chapter, but it was pretty much just to put a bridge between weeks 1 and 2. I already have an ending written, along with a pretty major part that should be coming up soon, but if you guys feel like this is being drawn on too long, let me know and I can definitely start to sum it up. Either way, I love the reviews, and constructive criticism is always amazingg.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - Water Beds and Smurfs

_- Organize sleeping arrangements_

"Heyyy, Bones, nice PJs."

She looked down at her baggy pants and tank top, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile.

"Thanks."

He was lounging lazily on the big red couch, looking up at her contently as he polished off the last few bites of the macaroni and cheese she had made. After a moment, he suddenly became conscious that he should have looked away by now, but he allowed himself another few seconds before standing up and clearing his throat noisily, an empty plate in each hand.

"You made dinner, so I'll, uh - I'll handle the dishes."

Nodding to himself, he walked passed her towards the kitchen. When he was gone, she plunked herself down on the couch and looked around the room, reflecting on the change in the apartment. Now that they were fully moved in, the formerly cold flat was much more comfortable. Her possessions looked more at home here than they ever had in her sprawling apartment, and as out of place as they should have seemed next to Booth's things, they managed to blend in oddly well.

Any nervousness she had felt earlier had abated into tiredness over the course of the long day, and she had rationalized sleeping near Booth as entirely acceptable, provided they were in separate rooms this time, so, after saying a quick goodnight to her strangely jittery partner, she settled into her new bed. After several minutes, she heard him go into his own room across the hall, shuffling softly as he got ready for bed. Finally, the sliver of light emanating from under her door was extinguished as Booth turned out his lamp, and she was left in quiet darkness. Closing her eyes and focusing her mind on anything but how he had looked sleeping on the ground the week before, she was soon asleep.

...

Booth could hear Brennan's soft breathing coming from the room next to him. Rolling over in the sloshing water bed, he tried to ignore how close she was to him or how uneasy his wiggling mattress made him feel. He finally managed to settle his thoughts on how mad he was about trading his big SUV for a tiny little Subaru, but that did nothing to help the uncomfortable water bed situation. He watched the clock change, trying to lie as still as possible to avoid provoking another fit of wattery wiggles as he waited impatiently for sleep.

_The guest bedroom still smelled like paint, so he couldn't go there._

_The couch would have been perfect if the living-room wasn't so light at night. _

_He could always sleep on the floor, but not sleeping at all seemed like a better option than waking up with a stiff neck again. _

_Which left..._

_..._

Brennan felt her shoulder being shaken softly, and she inhaled deeply as she was pulled awake. She sat up quickly, frowning in confusion as she realized who belonged to the large silhouette standing over her, hand still on her shoulder.

"Booth?"

"Sorry to wake you, Bones."

"Is something wrong? Are you okay?"

He paused for a moment, looking guilty. "I hate the water bed."

Her concern turned quickly to frustration. "Why did you wake me up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Booth, it's 2 in the morning." She slumped back into her bed, covering her head with a pillow. "Go sleep on the couch."

"Can't - it's too bright."

Her voice was muffled from under the pillow. "Guest bedroom."

"Smells like paint."

She uncovered her face again, frowning up at him. "I don't understand what you're getting at."

He grinned down at her, waggling his eyebrows.

"What? ... Booth, stop looking at me like that."

His smile faded as something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he leaned over his partner to pick something up off of her bedside table.

"Hey, Bones - what's this?"

She sat up, squinting in the dark at the two small objects in his hand. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Where did those come from?"

"Come on, Bones, no need to get embarrassed-"

"The movers must have put them there."

He grinned. "Bones-"

Her mouth opened, but it took her a moment to decide on what to say. "I - didn't know where else to put them."

He held them up in front of her face like he had when he first gave them to her, smiling teasingly. "You keep Jasper and Brainy Smurf next to your bed."

She grabbed them out of his hand, re-positioning them carefully on her bedside table as she looked to change the subject.

"Remind me why you're in here."

He shrugged. "I'm homeless."

She just frowned at him.

"Well - bed-less."

"And you want me to ..."

His smile faded, and he looked at her nervously, his voice hesitant. "Well, I was kinda hoping I could - you know - set up camp in here. With you."

When she didn't respond, he continued awkwardly. "I mean, just for tonight. Until I get a new mattress."

Her nervous expression suddenly went blank, and he could tell she was rationalizing something. After a moment, she shrugged non-chalantly.

"Fine."

He opened his mouth to argue, frowning with surprise when he realized she had just agreed with him. "Really?"

She shuffled to the right, making room for him. "Sure. I mean, I don't want you to get - bed head."

He scooted in beside her, suddenly very conscious of the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Bed head means bad hair, Bones - and I _don't_ think it really applies in this situation."

When they were both properly adjusted, she turned to face him, speaking more quietly. "Besides, it doesn't mean anything."

He looked at her seriously, tripping over his words as he answered. "Yeah - no, of course not."

For some reason, it felt strangely like a lie.

...

A/N: Okay, so I know they've slept beside eachother twice already, so I'm sorry if it was too much, but it was way too easy and I couldn't not do it. I'll try and make the next chapter a little lighter, too, because I know this one probably felt a bit heavy.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - The Morning After

Booth slipped into consciousness feeling strangely naked. It wasn't unusual for him to fall asleep with his shirt off, but for some reason, this particular morning, there was a constant nagging in the back of his mind telling him that he should be more adequately dressed. He was making an attempt to push these thoughts back into his subconscious so he could go back to sleep, when something twitched lightly against his chest.

He hadn't even noticed anything was there until it moved, but the unexpectedness of the action forced him to overcome his grogginess for a moment to analyse the situation. He opened his eyes, blinking tiredly, and looked down at his chest, where a delicately curled hand was resting gently on his tanned stomach. He stared at it dumbly for a moment, wondering vaguely how it had gotten there, when he began to notice other inexplciable sensations appearing across his tired body; it wasn't until he noticed the hand touching his stomach that he became aware of the hair tickling his shoulder, or the weight resting against his chest, or the gentle breath against his neck.

_Wait - woah. Who is breathing on my neck?_

It wouldn't take an incredible amount of intelligence to piece together the evidence at hand, but even as he allowed himself to look away from the hand and towards whatever it belonged to, he refused to accept any conclusion until it had been confirmed.

_Besides ... hadn't she always told him not to jump to conclusions?_

Throat dry, he swallowed hard, and his eyes slowly began to trace a path up the pale arm stretched out across his body towards its owner. Arm became shoulder, which led to torso and then up to a neck. Booth felt a dull thud in the pit of his stomach when his gaze finally rested on the face of his partner lying beside him, brow furrowed with the shadow of a frown as she slept against his chest. As he let his eyes wander down to her hair tumbling in waves across his shoulder, he became vaguely aware that his own arm was slung casually underneath her small back. He knew he should pull away, or at least try and keep his conscience clear by pretending to contemplate how to do so without waking her up, but instead, he just watched her.

When someone's sleeping, all the guards that they raise during the day and all the walls that they build when they're awake slip away. In that moment, science and logic entirely erased, Brennan looked strangely vulnerable, and that more than anything made it impossible for Booth look away. Of course, life often makes the best possible things happen at the worst possible times, and it was while Booth was staring down at her, still trying to come to terms with what to do or how to feel, that Brennan's eyes flickered open.

If he had been shocked waking up with his partner next to him, it was nothing compared to what she felt. Of course, she had known he was in her bed, but she had somehow convinced herself that there was know way they could end up as close together as they were now. For a moment, she just watched him watch her, but she was quicker to absorb the situation than he had been, and within seconds, she had pulled out of his arms and sat up against her thick pillows. He could tell by the look on her face that she was processing, so he kept quiet until she turned back to him, face suddenly expressionless.

"We slept in the same bed."

He frowned. "Yeah, Bones, but I don't see what that has to do with-"

"It was your fault."

"Woah, hey - why are we suddenly pointing fingers?"

She looked at him for a long moment, seemingly weighing the situation in her head before she finally spoke. "I think we should bring it up with Sweets."

Booth's frown disappeared, and he just stared at her blankly. "Wait, you - Bones, did you just say you wanted to talk to Sweets?"

She shrugged. "Organizing sleeping arrangements was obviously one of the main focuses of this exercise, so it only seems logical that your error would be jermaine to his investigation."

"Wait- _my _error? You know what, Bones, how about easing up for a bit, okay? You know - at least until we get some coffee or something."

She shook her head as she peeled off the covers and stood up, opening a drawer to pull out some clothes. "We can get coffee when we ome back, Booth - we should go talk to Sweeks as soon as possible."

Booth rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about? I mean, it's not like he has anything to _do_, I mean, after this, the guy's probably just going to go home and - you know - re-inact Star Wars in his basement or something."

When she ignored his joke, he frowned at her again from his place on the bed. "Bones, is this bugging you?"

She stopped wandering around the room and looked at him. "I just think - don't we owe it to Sweets to inform him?" Her voice was calm, but her eyes were almost pleeding. He looked at her for a moment, the vulnerability he had glimpsed earlier just visible again through her annoyance, and he sighed, pulling himself out from beneath the covers.

"Fine, Bones, we'll go. But I'm driving, and you're not pinning this on me when we get to Sweets', okay?"

She had relaxed as soon as he had agreed, and her countenance was one again non-challant. "Fine."

She was just leaving the room with her stack of clothes when she stopped in the doorway and turned to him one last time."Oh, and Booth?" she allowed her eyes to scan his bare chest for the first time since she woke up before raising her eyebrows pointedly. "You might want to consider putting on a shirt."

He smiled and shook his head as she disappeared into the guest bedroom to change, and, now fully awake, he pulled himself out of bed and began raiding his own drawers.

_Why the hell did she want to go see Sweets?_

...

_A/N: So i know it was short with no challenge, but I'm kinda tired right now and I wanted topost something, so I guess we'll just call it a lead-up. If yu wanna see how they really feel about the situation, I guess you'll have to wait for chapter 15? Thanks and sorry. _


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - The Confrontation

_- Organize transportation with FBI-issued vehicle_

"Bones, I still don't understand why we're going to Sweet's office. I mean, I thought you - you know - hated psychology."

"I don't _hate _it Booth, I just find it to be a soft science."

He looked down at his hands on the steering wheel of the Subaru issued to them by the FBI, trying to understand what she could be thnking, when she turned to him.

"You're reading too much into this, Booth. I told you - the only reason we're driving out here is because we're doing Sweets a favor."

"Yeah, well - are you sure about that, Bones? Because, it seems to me like we'd be doing him a favor if we - you know - left him to his video games."

She shrugged. "There are a few points related to his investigation that I'd like to speak to him about."

Booth turned his head to her. "Ah, now we're getting somewhere. You're mad at him, aren't you?"

She frowned at him. "Wha-? Booth, why would I be mad at him."

"Because, Bones, _he's _the one you blame for being forced to sleep in the same bed as me." He smacked the steering wheel triumphantly, and she raised an eyebrow at his excited expression.

"I told you I was fine with that, Booth."

His smile fell. "Alright, well now I'm confused again, Bones. If you don't even care that you woke up - you know - with my arm around your - and your head on my-"

He looked at her pleadingly, and she frowned. "Next to you?"

"Yeah, Bones, that. If you don't even care about that, than how is going to help Sweets to tell him about it?"

She just stared straight ahead.

"Okay, fine - if you don't want to talk about it, we just - you know - we won't." He exhaled deeply, looking over at her as he did so.

Booth hated silence - it made him agitated. After a moment of watching cars fly by on either side of him, he sighed and turned back to his partner.

"I know you're not doing this because you want psychological advice, okay, because you don't, you know - _do that_. Look, I'm the motive guy. It's what I do. And I'm good at my job, Bones, but right now, I'm a bit confused."

She frowned at him. "So am I. What are you trying to ask?"

"Can you just - tell me why I'm driving us all the way out here just to talk to a 12-year-old. Please."

She sighed. "Well, _I'm_ driving out here because I need to talk to Dr Sweets. You're driving out here because we're supposed to be sharing a car."

"Wait - what? I'm not even coming in?" He stared at her for a moment before continuing. "Then why did you even invite me, Bones - you could have just driven yourself!"

She shrugged. "I thought we could go grocery shopping after this. There's an excellent organic food section in the mall next to Sweets' office."

His eyes widened. "Okay, first of all: I'm not eating any of that - you know - _bird food_ you like to buy -"

"It's not bird food, Booth, it's very good for you."

His jaw clenched. "Look, until you try some pie, I'm not eating any of your weird food."

"Pie has absolutely no health benefits, Booth." She raised her eyebrows towards his stomach. "And it won't be a good habit to have once your metabolism slows down."

He opened his mouth, and then shut it again, subconsciously lowering a hand to touch his abs as he tried to re-orient himself. "Look, Bones, the point is - you should have told me why we were driving out here."

She looked at him for a moment before nodding. "I'll make sure to let you know next time."

"That's all I'm asking."

They pulled up in front of Sweet's office, and she undid her seat belt. "You can just wait in the car, Booth, this should just take a minute."

He sighed. "Fine, Bones, but after this - we're going for pie."

...

Sweets was at his desk, shuffling through some papers, when Brennan walked in. He smiled up at her as she sat down across from him.

"Dr Brennan, it's good to see you. What are you doing here? Did you have a question about the study?"

She put the outline of the case study he had given her the previous week onto the desk between them. "Yes, I do."

He looked at her annoyed expression, and his smile fell several degrees. "Is something the matter, Dr Brennan?"

"I was just a little curious about why you had a clause in here about organizing sleeping arrangements when the FBI had already supplied us with two beds."

He looked like a dear caught in the headlights for a moment, but he quickly regained composure. "I was referring to the two of you choosing which bed each of you wanted, Dr Brennan."

"Oh, so, you thought we'd have trouble choosing which one of us wanted the water bed? You thought it would - _test_ out partnership in some way?"

He opened his mouth, but closed it again quickly. Her tone lowered dangerously.

"You knew Booth would want the water bed, Dr Sweets - that wasn't a challenge at all. You had something else in mind."

He couldn't hide his smile. "He hated it though, didn't he? Agent Booth is much too restless as it is without sleeping on a bed that moves."

She looked at him triumphantly. "So you knew Booth would hate the bed. And you knew the guest bedroom would be full of paint. You played us, Dr Sweets."

He looked guilty. "The purpose of this investigation is to simulate a certain type of relationship between yourself and Agent Booth, Dr Brennan. I did what I had to do to get the result I needed - you of all people should understand."

She looked away for a moment, and then looked at him again, voice lower. "Out of respect for your work, Dr Sweets, I'm not going to mention any of this to Booth, but from now on, you have to be up-front with us."

He nodded, looking slightly intimidated in spite of himself. "I will be sure to do that, Dr Brennan."

He hesitated, and she could tell he had more to say, so she waited until he opened his mouth again. "In the spirit of full disclosure, I -" he sighed, looking defeated. "We're going to have to discuss what happened last night at next weeks session."

After a moment, she shrugged. "Fine."

He looked up, suddenly confused. "_Fine? _Just like that?"

She nodded. "I told you, there's nothing to talk about." Her face was calm, but her tone was agitated.

Her eyebrows raised pointedly as she confirmed began to stand. "Whatever you were planning clearly failed."

And with that, she pulled the sheet off the table between them and turned to leave. As she marched through the door, he smiled to himself.

_Something definitely happened. _

_..._

_A/N: Okay, so I knew a few people were a little confused as to why she would want to go see Sweets instead of ignoring the situation or trying to resolve it with Booth, but I hope that now it all makes a little more sense. The next chapter is going to be a little lighter, too, so for all of you that are tired of drama, I guess that should make you happy. Love the reviews, everyone, they're helped me so much._


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Movies and Pie

A/N: Heyy guys - so i pretty much have the story lined up chapter by chapter for the next little while, so since i get so many requests asking what's up next, i figured i'd put a little preview at the end of every chapter to give you guys an idea, and that way you can give me any input you may have before it comes out?

...

_- Take turns organizing a group activity for each night_

"So - you still haven't told me what exactly you needed to talk to Sweets about."

The corner of Brennan's mouth flickered into a smile as she looked at Booth, his mouth full of pie as he concentrated on his plate. They were surrounded by bags from their grocery shopping excursion, and they had stopped at the Royal Diner on the way home to grab some coffee and a piece of cherry pie, but so far Brennan had somehow managed to avoid answering any of Booth's questions with regards to her meeting that morning.

"I told you, Booth, I just wanted to clarify something."

"Something you couldn't have clarified with_out_, you know - leaving me in the car?"

"If it had anything to do with you, I would have brought you. Look - can you just trust me on this one, Booth?"

His attention was averted from his pie for the first time, and he looked at her seriously; trust wasn't something she talked about very often.

"Yeah, Bones, sure I can -" He put an arm onto the table and leaned towards her, narrowing his eyes slightly and lowering his voice. "I'm just saying that maybe _you _need to trust _Sweets _a bit more." His fork poked at her with each emphasized word, and Brennan laughed lightly before continuing.

"I guess you're right - I mean, he_ is_ just trying to do his job."

Booth nodded. "And we're not always going to like everything he does, but we said we were in on this, so we have to be, you know - _in on it_."

She frowned. "I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I think I understand what you're trying to say."

He shrugged. "That's all I'm asking."

She sighed, putting down her coffee, and met his eyes again. "I just don't like how he keeps on trying to_ change_ things - it's underhanded."

"Come on, Bones, give the guy a break. Besides -" he grinned at her as he held up a fork-full of pie between them, "Not all change is bad."

She smiled coyly back at him. "Booth, I told you, I don't like my fruit cooked."

"Ah, come on, it can't be worse than that cereal that you bought today - I mean, it kinda looked like scabs."

She raised an eyebrow. "That cereal is full of fiber and important vitamins, Booth - pie's just calories."

"Look, Bones, I didn't complain about the cereal, so can you try and do me a favor and - you know - not ruin this whole pie thing for me_?_"

After a moment, he wiggled the fork slightly. "I thought trying new things helped you to, you know - evolve."

She exhaled. "If it's that important to you, Booth -"

He grinned excitedly. "Okay, Bones, here comes the airplane -"

She looked at him in confusion for a moment, and he sighed.

"Fine, Bones, we'll do it the traditional way - here comes the fork."

After a short pause, she smiled nervously, and opened her mouth to bite off the piece of pie. He looked at her in anticipation, and after a moment of pensive chewing, a smile started to spread tentatively across her face. "I have to admit, this tastes much better than the cereal."

He grinned. "See, I told you, Bones - sometimes, change can be good."

Smiling, she began to reach for the fork again, but he pulled it away. "Hey, wait - who said you could have more?"

"Wha-? Booth! I just want one bite."

He shook his head. "No, 'cause I know you Bones, okay; it's like with the fried rice - you'll just end up eating the whole thing."

She scoffed. "I did not eat all that rice, Booth, Angela must have taken some."

"Yeah, nice try - I'm ordering you you're own piece."

"I don't need a whole piece, Booth-"

"Come on, Bones, you're experiencing new things, remember? Hey, speaking of which, I have a great idea for out activity tonight."

"What is it?"

He smiled deviously. "You're just going to have to wait and see."

She chewed her lip pensively. _Change isn't always bad._

_..._

Brennan was snuggled up in her PJ's on the big red couch in front of the new flat-screen TV, surrounded by bowls full of snack food and waiting for Booth to return with the popcorn.

After a moment he came in, also clad in sleep-wear, holding the popcorn in one hand and a stack of movies in the other.

"Alright, Bones, you ready to go?"

"I don't even know what we're doing yet, Booth."

He grinned at her, walking over towards the TV. "You're cinematographic education begins tonight. Now, ladies and gentleman, get ready for the timeless genius of _Fight Club._"

He plugged it in excitedly and plopped down next to her on the couch, turning up the volume as the opening credits began to roll.

She shook her head, smiling, and pulled her feet up onto the couch, settling into the movie.

...

She got through Fight Club, the Blues Brothers, and an old Clara Bow film Booth had somehow managed to track down for her before falling asleep part way through the second James Bond. Despite the fact that her continuous stream of questions had suddenly stopped, Booth hadn't even noticed she'd drifted off until he nudged her excitedly 10 minutes later when Bond pulled out his large gun, ready to make a joke about her own over-sized weapon, only to find her slumped against the back of the couch, breathing slowly.

He looked at her in surprise for a moment before hastily lowering the volume on the TV and turning to face her. Smiling slightly at her vacant expression, he covered her in a blanket and carefuly placed a pillow under her head before getting up to go sleep in her bed. As he left, he stopped the doorway for a moment to turn down the lights, stealing one last glance at her as he thought vaguely about how Sweets' _sleeping arrangement_ clause had turned out to have a lot more meaning that it had appeared to have at first glance.

...

A/N: Okay, so like I said before, I'm going to give you guys a kind of preview for the next chapter, and that way you guys can give me ideas or criticism or whatever before I post it. So...

Preview: As per Sweets's request, Booth and Brennan invite Hodgins and Angela over for dinner. They have to play house for guests, and, of course, Angela has some advice for Brennan.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - The Plotting

_- invite mutual friends over for dinner_

"So - what are we going to do, exactly?"

"What are you talking about, Bones? Hodgins and Angela are coming over for dinner. We're gonna - you know - _eat._"

She smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I'm aware, Booth. I meant what _else._"

He looked at her dumbly. "There has to be something else?"

"Entertaining guests is a social practice with many requirements, Booth. You can't just give someone dinner - the manner in which it's presented, the activities surrounding the meal, and the mood of the evening all play a large part in the success of the event."

He frowned for a moment, working through what she had just said. "So - what do we have to do, then? In English, if that's okay with you."

She put her drink down on the kitchen island and sat down at a nearby bar stool. "Well, besides all the things to do with the actual assembly of the meal -"

"Which, we've got covered -" He grinned, gesturing proudly to the pots simmering on the stove.

She smiled back at his excited expression before continuing. "- we should should also put on some music, decorate the table, organize some sort of activity to occupy our time before and after the meal -"

"Wait, wait - _activity_? What kind of activity are you talking about, Bones?"

Brennan shrugged. "It would varry depending on the event. Sometimes, pure conversation is enough."

"Okay, well, how about for our _event,_ then, we just stick to the chit-chat."

Brennan winced slightly, and his shoulders fell.

"What?"

"Well-" she looked at him hesitantly. "I'm not sure that's the best idea in this circumstance. With Angela coming over-"

He sighed. "She's going to want to meddle, isn't she."

He could tell she was choosing her words carefuly. "I just think that if we don't have something planned ... she might."

He exhaled loudly, and pulled out another bar stood to sit next to her. After a moment of playing with his fingers, he turned to her, looking resigned.

"You know her better than anyone, Bones ... what can we plan that'll be good enough to keep Angela from doing what Angela does best?"

Brennan's eyes narrowed slightly as she reflected, and when she finally turned to him, she was chewing her lip uncomfortably.

"You're not going to like it, Booth."

...

"Unless you're planning on wearing your sweats to Booth and Brennan's, you might wanna change. We have to leave in like - an hour."

Hodgins sighed, re-adjusting himself on the couch. "I'm a guy, Angela. We don't spend hours getting ready - we just go."

She rolled her eyes, smiling to herself. "Right - I forgot. Well not to insult your manhood or anything, but could you hurry up just this once? There's something I want to talk to you about before we leave."

He sighed. "Look, I'm not going to bring up any conspiracy things with Booth while we're there. Not that I'm not curious about why the FBI owns an empty apartment that just _happens_ to be across the street from where an important senator's been living for the past 7 years-"

"Though I probably _wouldn't_ recommend bringing that up with Booth, that's not what I'm talking about."

He sat up straight, mildly surprised. "It's not?"

"No. What I'm thinking of is _much _more fun."

Her eyes sparkled dangerously, and he grinned excitedly.

"You wanna do something to Booth and Brennan, don't you?"

Angela smiled, but didn't say anything.

"What have you got in mind?"

She shrugged. "They've been spending every waking hour with each other for, like, a week now - there's going to be enough sexual tension built up inside that tiny apartment to launch a rocket. I'm just going to present them with the opportunity to blow off some of the steam."

He laughed appreciatively, eyeing her. "You say it so innocently, and yet -"

She smiled back mischievously, tapping his leg. "Well, are you going to hurry up and get dressed or what?"

He looked around for a moment, dissoriented, before jumping to his feet and trotting off towards their bedroom, turning to her as he went. "I knew I liked you for a reason."

She shook her head as she watched him go, laughing lightly.

_This was going to be quite a night._

...

Booth sat on the edge of the big red couch, picking nervously at a loose thread on his pants as he waited for his partner to finish getting ready. They'd both done their best to plan a counter-attack while they finished making dinner, but both were too hesitant to bring up anything that they thought the other might find uncomfortable, so they had just settled on bringing out a glass of wine after dinner, resolved to stay on guard in case Angela tried anything, and left it at that.

Of course, discussing what Angela could be conspiring to do hadn't helped to make Booth feel any more secure about the evening - if anything, he was more nervous than ever. Still, he didn't have much choice, and out of the few mutual friends he and Brennan shared, Angela and Hodgins seemed like their safest bet.

He was shaken from his reverie when he heard the door down the hall open slowly, and Brennan came out of the bedroom hesitantly.

"Hey, Booth."

The corner of her mouth raised in a half-smile as her partner came into view, and as was usually the case when he saw her dressed up, he stared back dubiously.

"Hey, Bones - you look great."

She bit back another smile, trying to look non-chalant as she came to sit beside him.

"Thanks. You look nice too."

He grinned, moving over to give her space on the couch.

"Hey, thanks, Bones - you never compliment me."

She frowned. "That's not true - I've complimented you on several occasions."

"Yeah, well - not very often."

"Well - would you rather I be incincere?"

"No, I'm just saying that - look, never mind, Bones. Anglea and Hodgins are going to be here any minute, okay? So let's just - chill."

She shrugged. "Fine. We'll chill."

"Oooookay."

He exhaled slowly, already bored, the silence suddenly reminding him that he was supposed to be nervous. After a moment, he turned to his partner, who seemed to be already expecting him to say something.

"Look - what do we do if Angela tries to make us, you know -"

She just frowned at him, clearly confused. After a moment of looking at her expectantly, his shoulders fell in exasperation.

"Oh, come on Bones, you know what I mean."

She was still frowning, trying to work through what he was saying. "Are you talking about sex, Booth?"

"Wha-? Bones! No!" He did a nervous shoulder check to make sure no one had heard before he remembered that they were alone, which only helped to make him more uncomfortable. "Why would you even say that?!"

"Well, do you think you could be a bit more articulate?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he tried again. "What if she wants us to -" his voice dropped to a whisper, and he did another subconscious shoulder check. "- Kiss."

Brennan looked at him in confusion for a moment, and then she started to laugh. "Booth, Angela's not going to try and make us kiss."

He was still whispering, albeit more loudly. "Why not? It's _Angela_."

When he continued to look nervous, her smile faded. "What are you asking me, Booth?"

He paused for a moment. "Well - _should_ we?"

"Should we what?"

He did another shoulder check, voice lowering back to its original a whisper. "_Kiss_."

She looked taken aback. "Why would we kiss?"

"Well, you're the one who said that if Angela tried to - you know - play any games with us, it would throw her off if we participated."

"Not throw her off, Booth, just - satisfyher. If we participate in a few of her games, she'll probably get bored and stop."

"Whatever, Bones, why we do it is not the point. The point is whether or not we do."

"Do what."

"Kiss."

She looked at him strangely for a moment, but she had no chance to respond, as the doorbell rang. Prying her eyes away from her partner, Brennan got up off the couch and went to answer the door. It was only until she had began to walk away that his brain caught up to his mouth, and he realized he had been dumb emough to voice his concern out loud.

_Well, if it wasn't going to be awkward before, it sure as hell was now._

...

A/N: Okay, the next chapter is going to be a tough one, so I need as much advice or opinions as possible so I don't dissapoint everyone. I was going to put the dinner scene in this chapter, but it's already longer than most of the chapters in this story, and I didn't want it to run on. Also, I needed this piece to provide a little background and put the awkwardness element into the story for Angela to play with when she gets there. Anyways, I'm game for any ideas or requests anyone might have, so reviews are amazing.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - The Dinner

_- Invite mutual friends over for dinner_

Murphy's Law tells us that good things often happen to good people, but they usually choose to do so at the worst possible times. In normal circumstances, Booth's comment to Brennan would have given her the perfect opportunity to reflect on how she felt about him, but because he had said it just as their company was arriving, all it did was officially instate a blanket of awkwardness between the pair for the remainder of the evening. Of course, both were happy to have their friends visiting, and, as is usually the case, they ignored their own insecurities about the situation to allow themselves to have a good time.

Brennan and Angela went to check on dinner after the tour (Even though '_Restricting women to the kitchen is a custom that should no longer apply in today's society'_), while Booth and Hodgins shared an awkward beer in the living room.

After a moment of uncertain silence, Hodgins was the first to speak. "So - how's living with Dr B?"

"Uh - fine. Thanks."

He fiddled with the label on his bottle absently. "Do you guys, uh ... ever get bored?"

"No ... we, uh - we pretty much keep busy."

At this comment, Hodgins eyed Booth suspiciously for a moment, causing Booth to raise an eyebrow. Clearing his throat hastily, Hodgins took another swig of his beer, casting around nervously for something to say. After a moment, he cleared his throat again, forcing a smile.

"So ... I hear this place used to be a sniper hide-out."

...

The conversation in the kitchen was a little easier, Brennan tending to the stove as Angela sat on a bar stool at the island, updating her on the goings-on in the lab as insisted. After several minutes, Brennan looked up at her friend.

"You sound bored."

Angela sighed. "It's just, I've been living it all week, sweetie... and I'd rather not let it take over my week-end too. Besides-" she grinned coyly, "I'm _dying _to hear what it's like living with your own personal FBI agent."

Brennan rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself. "Not that different from working with one."

Angela frowned. "How do you figure?"

Her friend shrugged. "We're just together all the time, we're forced to share everything, he never lets me drive ... and we always bicker."

Angela grinned again. "Sounds hot_._"

Brennan smiled back shyly. "It's not _ho_t, Ange. It's an invasion of privacy."

Her friend shook her head. "I think I'm sticking to my guns on this one, sweetie. It's _definitely_ hot."

Brennan smiled awkwardly, hiding her face as she turned to stir the pot. After a moment, Angela began on a similar, albeit more serious, train of thought.

"So, living with him hasn't ... changed anything, then?"

Brennan turned, frowning. "What do you mean."

Angela chewed a nail absently. "Oh, I don't know. It hasn't made you ... realize anything?"

When Brennan continued to stare at her blankly, Angela's shoulders fell in exasperation. "Sweetie, you've been spending the majority of your time together for, like, 3 years, and now you're living together -"

"I don't see what difference that makes."

Anglea continued gently, choosing her words carefuly. "Sweetie, it means that _now, _would be a really good time to stop ignoring whatever you've been ignoring ... because pretty soon, it's going to make you crazy." She sighed. "Look, I love you to pieces, Bren, but even _your_ head's not that strong."

Brennan looked at her blankly. "I'm - not sure what you're trying to say, Ange."

"And you're not going to figure it out unless you start being honest with yourself. Look, I don't want to push you, sweetie, but I'm afraid you're hurting yourself pushing everything aside like this. Just - think about it, okay? That's all I'm asking. Think about it."

Brennan turned back to the pot, trying to piece together what Angela had said. Though she hadn't grasped the full meaning of her words, she'd gotten the general idea, and she was already starting to push it to the back of her mind when Angela touched her arm gently and came to stand beside her.

"Come on, sweetie." She smiled encouragingly. "Let's serve up dinner, okay?"

Brennan nodded. "Can you grab the cutlery? It's in the third drawer."

"I'm on it."

...

They managed to get through dinner without discussing murder or conspiracies, and the light conversation and good food made for an enjoyable evening. As they cleared the final remnants of food from their plates, Angela looked at her watch, glancing to Hodgins meaningfully.

"Well - it's still early. Did you guys have anything planned for after dinner?" Booth and Brennan caught each other's eye, both aware that this was the perfect opening for her to introduce whatever she'd been planning. Her coy smile at Hodgins confirmed this suspicion, and Brennan cleared her throat hastily and opened her mouth.

"Actually, Ange, we did have something planned."

She looked surprised but pleased. "_Really. _And what is that?"

Brennan looked nervously towards Booth for encouragement, and he gave her hand a gentle pat under the table before flashing their guests with his best charm smile. "Oh, you know - we were thinking we'd crack open a bottle of wine, maybe watch a bit of TV ..."

Brennan nodded, smiling more confidently. "You know - _relax_."

Hodgins chuckled. "That's a hard word for you to say, Dr Brennan."

After a moment, Anglea shrugged. "I'm always up for a little relaxation."

Booth hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until he exhaled in relief, and Brennan relaxed visibly as they stacked the plates and napkins. Booth was the first to stand.

"Alright, let's head to the living room."

Hodgins grabbed the bottle of wine as they made their way to the big red couch, looking down at it appreciatively.

"I could deffinately use a glass of this right about now."

Angela bumped Brennan with her shoulder, lowering her voice as she leaned in towards her.

"And after we're done with the wine, I'm pulling out Twister."

Brennan eyed her friend out of the corner of her eye, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile as she saw her friend's wide grin. "That's low, Ange."

Angela chuckled. "I do it out of love, sweetie. You'll thank me later. _I promise_."

Booth came trotting up behind them, returning from the kitchen where he had just put away the plates. "Thank you for what?"

She turned to him, smiling smugly. "You'll see."

His grin faded, and he stopped in his tracks as Brennan looked at him over her shoulder, eyes wide and bottom lip stretched downwards in an exaggerated grimace, as Angela dragged her towards the living room. She gestured frantically to the bottle of wine as she went, and his hands raised in exasperation as he rolled his eyes.

"The wine was supposed to _prevent _her games, Bones, not make them better."

_Too late._

_..._

A/N / Preview: I'm sure you can guess. And don't worry - I know how easy this one's going to be to over-do, and I'm going to be very careful not to ruin it. Anyways I hope this chapter wasn't too far-fetched, but I guess the whole idea of the story kinda is. After chapter 18 we'll have a little more one-on-one time, too, and maybe something a lot of you have been pushing for. Week two's almost up so I'm thinking it's about time for some sort of psychological crisis before the road trip?


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - Twister

_- Invite mutual friends over for dinner_

No matter how awkward a situation gets, it can always be made even more awkward by a game of Twister. Since awkward was exactly what Angela was aiming for, her plan was perfect. Of course, she'd purposely let herself slip early into the play, quickly retiring to the couch to spin the dial for the others, and after a meaningful glance, Hodgins soon joined her. Booth and Brennan, who's hesitance had only weakened enough for them to consent to playing in the first place after the entire bottle of wine had been drained, were now the only two left, entwined uncomfortably around one another and using each others' bodies for support.

"Left hand, red."

Booth looked at Brennan apologetically from under his armpit as he crossed his arm over her back, managing a faint "Sorry, Bones," before his head was hidden by his large shoulder. She felt like a wrestler, down on all fours facing opposite her partner with his arm securely around her torso, and as much as she was trying not to let herself get emotionally invested in the game, she couldn't help but feel that she was loosing.

A "right foot: green" had him streching his leg precariously, and as he teetered dangerously, she couldn't help but give him a gentle shove with her shoulder, sending him toppling down. Of course, as is often the case with spur-of-the-moment decisions, she hadn't had the chance to consider the consequences of her actions until it was too late, and as Booth tried to catch his balance, the arm that was placed firmly over her back pulled her down with him.

What had started out as an inncocent bid for victory soon had Brennan lying in a heap on the floor, awkwardly entwined with her partner. Her body was so oddly contorted that she didn't have a chance to orient herself as to which parts of her were touching which parts of him; all she could take in in the brief moment before they scrambled away from one another was his weight and his smell, and as he lifted his head to pull back, she realized that he was making that face again.

When they're partnership had first began, they'd both drawn a hard subconscious line that they thought protected them; it made them feel safe when they worked together, like nothing could happen so long as it was there. Over the years, as they became closer, the line had shifted continuously, making it harder and harder to judge when they were in danger of crossing it. Brennan had come to determine where the line was by the face Booth was giving her right now; as long as he didn't make that face, she was in bounds, but as soon as he looked at her like that, it was time to pull back.

And so she pulled back, and they were soon seated safely on the floor again, a good 3 foot margin separating them. Brennan began to relax immediately, smiling hesitantly at her partner, who's expression had gone from dangerous to dubious. He quickly caught her eye, and after a moment, a grin began to spread across his face aswell. From her place on the couch, Angela contently watched as they smiled stupidly at eachother, and Hodgins looked from one to the other, then back to Angela, frowning in confusion.

"So, definately good wine, then?"

Brennan was the first to retract her gaze, and she began to speak quickly. "Yeah, it was. I'm actually feeling a bit tired though... are you tired Booth?"

He just nodded, still looking guilty.

Brennan frowned at him for a moment before turning back to her guests. "You guys are welcome to stay if you want- the guest bedroom's ready to go."

Angela shook her head, her smile still not completely erased. "No, we've got an early morning tomorrow - we'll let the two of you sleep it off in peace."

She and Hodgins stood up to leave. "Thanks for dinner, both of you."

As Booth walked Hodgins to the door, Angela caught Brennan's arm. "Sweetie, I know you're probably having trouble focusing right now, but just - try and remember what I said earlier, okay?"

Brennan nodded, rolling her eyes. "I know, I know, Ange - _think about it_."

Angela nodded proudly. "That's my girl. Just try and keep that in mind. And it's good to see you loosen up once in a while - you should definately make it more a more regular occurrence."

"I don't know about that-"

"Oh, and you look great tonight, by the way."

Brennan rolled her eyes again, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile as she pushed her friend towards the door. "That's just the wine talking, Ange. Have a safe ride home - I hope Hodgins is driving."

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Sweetie, see you soon."

The door shut behind them, and Booth turned to her, unsure of what to say. After an awkward moment, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I think we should just -"

It took him a moment to comprehend her gesture towards the bedrooms, but as soon as he did, he nodded, looking slightly embarassed. "Right. Bed. Uh - see you in the morning, Bones."

He rushed off down the hallway, only pausing to look at her at the entrance to the guest bedroom, grinning wildly once again. "Hey, - I can finally sleep in a normal bed!"

She chuckled to herself, shaking her head as he dissapeared through the doorway, and made her way towards her own bedroom, trying as she did so not to think about how lonely sleeping would seem without him.

...

A/N: So i made this one short since the next few should be pretty long (Brennan's turn to plan the activity for the night next, and the chapter after that Parker is coming over so that one's going to be HUGEEE) but reviews are still great, because it was a pretty tough one to right. I'm not entirely happy with it, but I know you guys like fast updates, so I figured I'd just post it and maybe adjust it later depending on how things go.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 - Cards

_- Take turns organizing a group activity for each night_

"Bones, if you just told me what you're looking for, maybe I'd be able to help."

She rushed past him for the umpteenth time that night, forehead creased in concentration as she scoured the apartment.

"I know they're here, Booth, I just can't remember where I saw them."

He sighed submissively. "Alright, so you won't let me help. That's fine, I can just - I'll just be waiting in here. In the living room."

He lowered his pointing finger, and the end of his sentence trailed off as he realized she was too preoccupied to care. Instead, in a bid to save his pride, he casually hooked his thumbs under the drawstring of his pants and loped towards the big red couch.

"You know know what? You can just come find me when you're done, Bones."

Before he had a chance to piece together any meaning from her mumbled reply, she had wandered distractedly back out of the room. Booth frowned for a moment, then shook his head and made his way over towards the living-room, forehead still creased in confusion.

_Lookin' sharp, champ._

_..._

Booth had managed to make himself feel useful as he waited for Brennan by starting a fire in the grate. By the time she finally showed up, a triumphant grin spread across her face, the small flame had turned into a comfortable blaze, and she looked at it appreciatively before sitting down beside him on the rug by the hearth.

"That's a very impressive fire, Booth."

He leaned back on an elbow, smiling smugly. "Thanks, Bones. - I mean - I _did _kinda have time to kill."

She rolled her eyes at the obvious dig, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "Do you want to see what I was looking for or what?"

He grinned, sitting up excitedly as she pulled something from behind her back. After a moment, he frowned.

"... Cards?"

She shrugged, trying to keep her voice casual. "Yeah, well - I remembered a few games I used to play with my dad, so when I saw the deck..."

Booth gave her an understanding nod, not at all fooled by her non-chalant tone. "Hey - it's a nice idea, Bones."

She raised her eyes again, the corners of her mouth flickering hesitantly. "Yeah?"

He nodded again, smiling reassuringly. "Definitely."

The extra moment his eyes lingered on her would have seemed inappropriate in any other circumstance, but the mention of her father had introduced a new sensitivty to the dynamic of the situation that made it seem almost necessary. After another beat, Booth exhaled loudly, averting his eyes and plastering the excited grin back onto his face.

"So - you ready to get beaten or what, Bones?"

Brennan relaxed visibly as the mood lightened. After a moment, she raised an eyebrow. "You seem very confident in yourself."

"Yeah, well," he flashed her a cocky grin, "I've played a lot of cards."

Her coy smile suddenly melted away as her eyes widened. "Wait a minute - Booth, this doesn't count as gambling, does it?"

He chuckled to himself as he watched her expression change. "Nah, Bones - see, cause, we're not betting anything, remember?"

"That doesn't mean the association isn't unhealthy."

"Look, Bones, I'm fine, okay? Just - tell me what you want to play."

After a moment of contemplation, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, smiling coyly.

"Speed?"

He just grinned, patting the carpet in front of him.

"Deal me in."

...

Booth exhaled slowly as Brennan won the third round in a row.

"Wow, Bones - you're not bad."

She smirked. "Yes, well, my father was very _speed-_y."

Booth raised an eyebrow, but chose to ignore the bad pun. "So you and your dad - you guys play a lot of cards?"

She shuffled the deck distratedly. "_Played_. And yes - all the time when I was little."

He nodded slowly. "Nice."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, before Booth spoke again. "You know, Bones ... he _is _out of jail now. I mean, you _can_ - you know - play cards with your old man again."

He nudged her shoulder playfully, and he she looked back at him, smiling tentatively into his growing grin. "I'm not too sure about that, Booth -"

"Well-" he began dealing another hand. "You know what? You can play cards with _me _anytimeeee you want."

Brennan glanced over at him as he concentrated on the deck in his hands. "Thanks, Booth."

He looked up, caught slightly off-guard by her softer tone, hastily setting down the remaining cards on the carpet as he focused his attention on her.

"Well, yeah, Bones, sure - I mean, you're my partner. It's - uh -"

She scrunched her nose, meeting his eyes. "Your job?"

He nodded, though this wasn't entirely true.

"Yeah, Bones - it's my job."

This was the part where someone usually interrupted, but, thanks to Sweets, they were alone. Her chest tightened, and before she knew what was happening, she was on her feet. She hadn't even really meant to stand up, but it had felt like the only thing she _could_ do.

_There was a line._

Ignoring the disconcerting flutters in her stomach and willing herself not to look at Booth, she focused all her attention on finding her car keys. Before he had even realized what had almost happened, she was gone.

...

A/N: I'd feel guilty about making this one so short if I wasn't posting 2 at once tonight. Anyways, I'd give a summary for the next chapter, but it's gonna be posted with this one, so there's really not point. I guess all I have to say is reviews on this one would be great, cause as you can imagine it was a pretty touch one to try and write, but I figured something had to happen before they went on the road trip, and I kinda wanted a little more Sweets. Nottt going to lie. R&R, please :)


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 - The Confrontation

Sweets was at his desk, fiddling through some papers, when the door flew open.

"You lied to us!"

She flew towards him, causing him to drop the papers he had been holding, but she did nothing but sit forcefuly on the chair across from him. He had never seen her like this; she looked as if, given the smallest push, she could either hit him or break into tears.

"Calm down, Dr Brennan. - Now, what exactly did I lie about."

She took a deep breath. "You said that this whole partner building thing was just to see what it would be like if Booth and I _were _together, but it's not, is it - you're trying to _get_ us together."

He looked at her for a minute; her was chest heaving and her lips were tightly pursed, arms and legs crossed defensively and nostrils flared in anger, but her eyes were almost pleeding.

"No, Dr Brennan, I meant what I said - I am doing nothing more than putting you in a situation that simulates a relationship. If it causes supressed emotions to rise to the surface, then that is all just part of the process."

She looked away in frustration, foot tapping nervously. After a moment, she turned back to him, breath shaky. When she spoke, every word was slow and deliberate. "Then why would you even be doing all this, if you didn't intend for us to end up in a real relationsip eventully."

He sighed, pushing aside the papers on his desk, and entwining his hands on the now-clear surface in front of him.

"Dr Brennan, it's not my place to intend for anybody to have any sort of relationship besides the obvious professional one, but it _is_ my place to assess weather or not this is a realistic possibility. In the case of yourself and Agent Booth, psychologically, it seemed to be more of a probability." She opened her mouth indignantly, but he raised a hand to silence her. "The purpose of this investigation is to see how a personal relationship would affect a working relationship such as the one you share with Agent Booth, and I believe the only way to get the most out of this study is if you allow yourself to get in touch with any feelings that are rising to the surface. I'm not telling you to act on anything, of course, but I think it's about time you reflect on what Agent Booth really means to you."

She turned away, eyes glistening as she inhaled deeply.

"You should stick with this investigation, Dr Brennan." His tone was gentle. "Now would be a good time to use that well-devolopped frontal lobe of yours to assess the facts, and find out what's right."

She looked at him uncertainly. "You want me to treat my emotions ... like I would a set of remains?"

He smiled at her. "Exactly, Dr Brennan. You know you have to confront all these scary feelings eventually - I'm just saying, now would be as good a time as any to give them your full attention. Call it - science of the heart."

She nodded slowly. "And what am I trying to find out from these _scary feelings_, exactly?"

He shrugged. "The truth."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's a very general statement, Dr Sweets."

"Dr Brennan, whatever you feel for Agent Booth, it's clear from the way you've supressed it and rationalized it that you've been lying to youself. All I'm asking is that you stop lying, and look at _all_ the facts, as hard as that might be."

She tapped her foot uncomfortably, avoiding his earnest gaze; this was about the time when the rationalization would usually have started. When she spoke again, her voice was low.

"There was a line."

She had said it almost to herself, but he responded anyways. "The only line, Dr Brennan, is the one that you have drawn for yourself; it's something you created to make yourself feel safe. It's actually a very interesting evasion method that-"

She glared at him, and his excited smile faded. After a brief pause, he began again more seriously. "The line is just another thing seperating you from the facts."

For a moment, she looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights, and then she jumped into action, grabbing her keys and rushing out of the room.

_Find the evidence you need, assess that evidence, proccess, and come to a conclusion._

She just needed to look at the facts_._

_All the facts._

She had never been very good at introspection, but as she jumped into the car she and Booth had been sharing, she realized that she had a lot more evidence than she had anticipated waiting to be sifted through.

_Oh God._

...

A/N: So next up, Parker's coming over. I don't know if I should make that one a little longer, or just keep it short and sweet and cut to the road trip. If you guys let me know what you'd rather see, I'll do whatever you guys want - you're the ones I write this for anyways. Sorry about this one being a little short, too, but it was also pretty loaded.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 - Planning

_- Invite Parker over for the week-end_

When Brennan finally stumbled back through the apartment door, she was only half-surprised to find that Booth was still up. He sat perched on the edge of the couch tensely, hands clasped tightly around the phone. At the sound of her footsteps, he raised his head quickly.

"Bones - hey, what happened? Where were you?"

"I ... decided to take a drive. All that talk about my father -"

Booth nodded slowly, not entirely convinced. "You went to clear your head."

"Exactly."

"And - you're good now?"

She shrugged. "Yes."

He looked down at his hands for another moment, squinting slightly, before looking back up at her.

"Rebecca called while you were out."

She made her way over to the couch to sit beside him, happy to change the subject.

"She did? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah they're great." A smile slowly began to spread across his face. "You forgot what this weekend is, didn't you?"

She frowned for a moment, and he rolled his eyes. "Parker's supposed to come over, Bones, remember?"

She just continued to frown, and he raised his eyebrows in exasperation. "Parker. My son."

Comprehension dawned on her face. "Right, it was the last challenge. - You must be excited to see him -"

He grinned. "Yeah, Bones, I am. - And, you know ... he's looking forward to seeing you, too."

He bumped her shoulder with his, and a smile played at the corner of her mouth.

"Children don't generally like me."

"Yeah, well - so far, _he_ does. Just try not to - you know - freak him out with the science speak, okay? I don't want my son to turn into a squint."

She frowned at him. "Talking to pre-adolescents like they're idiots only stunts intellectual development, Booth." An eyebrow raised. "Do you want your son to be slow?"

He opened his mouth, and then closed it. "Bones , my son is not _slow, _okay? For your information, his teacher said that he's one of the best -" she just stared at him blankly. "You know what? That's not the point. The point is, he's coming over tomorrow morning, and we need to plan something."

She frowned again. "Plan what?"

"Come on, Bones, he's six. We need a plan of action."

She looked at the fading embers in the grate. Staying up late with Booth planning things to do with his son sounded like the perfect opportunity for her to observe the situation as Sweets had suggested, and she could tell he was trying to make amends for driving her out earlier, (though he still seemed unsure as to why she had left in the first place).

She concluded that the best course of action for all parties involved would be to ignore what had happened before so that Booth could enjoy his weekend with his son. And, of course, the new third party would act as a buffer to allow for more objective observation before they left for their road trip.

He looked at her almost pleadingly, and after a moment of reflection, she pushed everything to the back of her mind and smiled at her partner hesitantly.

"I have - no idea what to do with a 6-year-old."

He grinned, relaxing visibly. "Yeah, well - if memory serves, your a pretty fast learner."

...

"What about the zoo? Children love quadrupeds."

"Not if you call them quadrupeds, they don't."

She sighed, reaching for the chicken fried rice from one of the take-out boxes surrounding them on the floor, and looked distractedly into the fire, which was roaring again.

"We've gotten nowhere with this planning, Booth. I told you; I'm no good with kids."

He picked at a dumpling. "Nah, come one - you're just out of practice, Bones. What did you like to do when you were six?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm fairly certain my tastes would have been much different than Parker's."

He shrugged. "A six-year-old's a six-year-old."

He took another moutfull of rice, chewing thoughtfully. "Okay, fine. I used to like to help my mother in the kitchen -"

He scoffed. "Yeah ... no. Nothing that involves a stove."

Brennan shrugged. "Well - we could always try and bake cookies -"

"Okay, first you try and turn him into a squint, and now you're trying to make him a girl." She rolled her eyes at this, but she was smiling. "And how are you gonna bake without a stove?"

"Well one of us could put it in the stove, Booth. And I feel I should point out that questioning your son's masculinity could be viewed from a psychological stand-point as projecting your own insecurities onto your offspring."

She raised an eyebrow meaningfully, and he opened his mouth incredulously.

"Hey. You don't even believe in psychology, okay, Bones? That makes it off-limits to use against me." He paused. "And I'm very comfortable with my - you know -" he leaned in, lowering his voice, "_masculinity, _thank you."

She looked at him blankly. "You certainly don't look very comfortable at the moment."

He exhaled loudly, sitting back up straight.

"You know what, Bones? Let's just stick to the planning, shall we?"

She shrugged. "I was just trying to initiate conversation, Booth - but if I hit a sensitive issue, I apologise."

"Not sensitive, okay? Just not relevant."

She scrunched her nose. "I'm sorry. I made you touchy."

He clenched his jaw, looking up at the ceiling pleadingly. "Remember when we were talking about cookies? Remember how nice that was?"

She frowned. "Yes ... That was less than a minute ago, Booth."

He looked at her inredulously, and she just blinked back. After a moment, Booth sighed. "Just - pass the chicken fried rice, Bones."

As she turned to reach for the take-out box, she smiled to herself.

_Fact: Bickering with Booth was fun._

...

A/N: Okay, so Parker actually shows up next, and we'll see what B&B have planned for him. I fyou guys like the baking idea, let me know and I'll throw it in. I'm also open to any other suggestions. And I've decided that all the facts that she's assessing are just kinda gonna show up over the course of the text like at the end of this chapter, so I don't have to interrupt the story to much to go over them.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Okay, before I write this chapter, I think I owe a few apologies. First off, I know I've taken forever posting this chapter but this week was like... the most important week of the school year so i figured that kinda took priority. Also, last post I forgot to delete the point-form notes I make for myself as I write the chapter, so for those of you who read it the first few days after it was posted and saw those at the end, it wasn't some new idea or anything it was just a mistake. So anyways, to make up for all that, here's the final chapter of week 2 :)

Chapter 23 - Kids and Cookies

_- Invite Parker over for the week-end_

The echo of the doorbell made Brennan's stomach flip as she sat on her bed in nervous apprehension. Voices floated down the hall towards her, chattering casually, but she couldn't discern any individual words from the buzz. After a moment, when the door had closed again and she was sure Rebbecca had gone, she stood up slowly, opening her bedroom door a crack and poking her head out to look into the main living area.

She had wanted to give Booth some time alone with his son before she intruded on them, so she had made the excuse to go change her clothes in order to excuse herself for long enough to let them catch-up. She knew peering at them from the end of the hall would probably be viewed as even less socially-appropriate than standing awkwardly with them at the front door, but she felt more comfortable watching them from a distance.

Of course, she reminded herself, she shouldn't be _watching_ them at all, but something about Parker had always drawn her in. Watching the way he interacted with Booth showed the best part of both of them, and she smiled absently to herself as she watched Booth follow Parker around the house.

Suddenly, she realized their footsteps were drawing towards her, and she slunk back hastily into her room just as the door flew open.

"No Parker, don't go in there, Bones is change-" Booth frantic voice stopped mind-sentence when he saw that she was in fact fully-clothed, looking at him with an expression somewhere between discomfort and guilt.

After a moment, she shrugged hesitantly. "I - changed my mind."

He raised an eyebrow, but before he had a chance to say anything further, Parker had caught his partners attention. Beaming up at her in his usual way, he glanced questionningly at his father before giving her an enthusiastic, "Hi, Bones."

She smiled nervously. "Hello, Parker - how ... are you?"

He shrugged, looking around distractedly. "Good. Is this your room?"

"Um - yes."

He smiled up at Booth. "My room has a water bed. Right daddy?"

Brennan raised an eyebrow at her partner before looking down at the smiling boy, who was now tugging at his father's pants excitedly.

Booth just smiled at her smugly before ruffling Parker's hair affectionately. "Yeah, buddy - you bet. And, hey - I even have some things you can decorate it with if you want. You know - posters of _cars _and _trucks_ and stuff. You love cars, right?"

Brennan frowned at him over Parker's head again, her voice low. "You know, Booth, your insistence that your son form an interest in predominantly male areas like automobiles could be interpreted at another attempt to compensate for your fear of his ending up with an overly-developed feminine side."

He covered Parker's ears protectively, though the boy appeared to be too preoccupied to pay it any mind, and his eyes widened suggestively. "Bones, not really the time."

She shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with a well-developed feminine side, Booth, he gets it from you."

"Look - my son's not feminine, okay? And neither am I. All man here."

She raised an eyebrow. "You sound insecure."

"I - hey, I'm secure Bones, okay? Now can we just - go hang up pictures of cars? Please?"

After a moment, Brennan shrugged again. "Fine."

She turned to leave, pausing when she reached the doorway. "Oh - and you might want to uncover you son's ears." She smiled smugly. "Just a thought."

He rolled his eyes, dropping his hands exasperatedly as he did so. Parker looked up at him questioningly. "Were you and Bones talking about kissing?"

Booth opened his mouth, shut it again, and repeated before he was composed enough to answer. "Parker, I - why would you even say that?"

The boy shrugged non-challantly. "Whenever Mommy covers my ears, she says its because she and Captain Fantastic are talking about kissing and that I don't want to hear anyways."

Booth's mouth opened once more, and he stared at his son dubiously as his small blond head began to bob towards the main house. "Where are the pictures of the cars, Daddy?"

...

Parker sat on the water bed, squished tightly between Booth and Brennan, scanning the room excitedly. They had taken all the posters and car paraphernalia they'd picked out for him earlier and moved it from the guest bedroom, where Booth was going to sleep, into the room with the water bed, where they were sitting now.

"How d'ya like that, Buddy?"

Parker grinned. "It's good."

"Yeah - it is. See, you've got all yours cars and trucks and toys - just like at home."

He nodded, blond curls bouncing. Booth leaned towards his son, lowering his voice. "We should tell Dr Brennan thank-you, shouldn't we."

Parker turned to the woman on his right, his grin mirroring his fathers perfectly.

"Thanks, Bones."

The corner of her mouth twitched into a smile, and she glanced down at her hands quickly before looking at his face. "You're welcome Parker. I'm - glad you like it."

She caught Booth's eye over the boy's head, and he gave her a slight nod, smiling encouragingly.

Her voice became more confident. "Hey, Parker - do you like cookies?"

He smiled enthusiastically, bouncing slightly and causing the matress to slosh. "Mhm they're my favorite."

"Yeah?"

He nodded, and she hardly hesitated this time. "Would you like me to teach you how to make them?"

For a moment, he looked stunned. When he began to speak, his voice was quiet with awe. "You can make them?"

Brennan smiled with embarrassment. "Yes, they're fairly easy to make actually - why, where does your mom get them from?"

He shrugged. "The store. Like carrots."

She smiled down at him affectionately for a moment before catching herself. "You know, carrots actually come from the ground; you only buy them in the store. They're a type of plant called a-"

At Parker's confused frown, Booth cut in. "But that's not the point, Buddy. The point is, Bones can show you how to make cookies. And then, we can eat them. Okay? How does that sound."

At this, the smile returned to Parker's face, and Booth looked at Brennan meaningfully again as he slid off the bed, causing a large slosh as he did so, and began to make his way towards the kitchen. "I'll - get the ingredients together. You two just - chill."

She shook her head nervously, but he gave her a stern nod, and she sank back against the pillows submissively. As he turned to leave, she raised her eyebrows meaningfully. "Don't take too long, Booth."

He just pretended not to hear her as he closed the door on the two of them. As he stepped into the kitchen, he smiled to himself. If anyone could get her to change her stance on children, it was Parker.

_The charm smile never disappoints._

_..._

When Brennan and Parker emerged a half-hour later at Booth's request , she seemed much more at ease as she told him about how the different animals at the zoo were all actually related. Booth found himself more amused than annoyed when he realized how interested his son seemed to be.

He barely said anything as she explained to Parker how all the ingredients reacted with heat to make cookies, and though the boy seemed to retain absolutely nothing of consequence from her words, his smile never faltered, and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy licking the cookie-dough off the spoon.

The day passed quickly, and they were soon piled back into the water bed again, this time with a book and a plate of fresh chocolate-chip cookies. As Brennan read a bed-time story to Parker upon his request, Booth got up to achange into his PJ's, and when he returned, he was met with a questioning glance from a very uncomfortable Brennan, his son sound asleep on her shoulder. He looked down quickly to hide the smile playing at the corners of his mouth before making his way over to them and supporting the boy's head to allow her the chance to get up. Of course, while this may have worked perfectly well on any normal mattress, the water bed began to wiggle violently, and Parker was shaken awake anyways despite Booth's efforts.

Luckily, he seemed to tired to finish the story, and as he slumped back into the pillows tiredly, eyes sliding shut, Brennan picked the book up carefully off the mattress. Before she turned to leave, she held it up suggestively to Booth, eyebrows raised.

"Thomas the Tank Engine?"

His mouth opened defensively. "What? Hey, he's a tank engine, Bones - okay? Not a car."

She just continued to look at him, eyebrows high.

"Tank engine. Look at the title."

With that, he snatched it away from her, holding it protectively as he shooed her out of the room.

"Hey - try not to wake up my kid again, okay? Come on Bones - time for bed."

She tried vainly to grab the book back as he escorted her out of the room, one hand at the small of her back and the other holding the book in question high above his head.

...

Even after Brennan and Parker were safely in their own beds, he still couldn't get the image of the two of them lying together out of his head. Somehow, he had the feeling she had been much less uncomfortable than she had let on, and he couldn't put his finger on why, but something about that had made him feel almost relieved.

In her own room, Brennan's head was reeling. Forcing herself to reflect as Sweets had suggested, she had to admit to herself that as much as it scared her, she had formed an anthropologically inevitable attachment to Parker. The trust Booth had in her even around his own son made her look at their relationship in a whole new way, and she felt herself rationalizing this development even before it had fully formed in her mind. Still, she reminded herself, it didn't mean anything; her emotions were tainted by a biological need to bond with the species' young.

_Right?_

Sighing, she re-adjusted herself on her pillows, wondering as she did so why Parker had a stronger effect on her maternal instincts than any other child she'd encountered thus far.

_Fact: Parker was cute._

Of course, he was also Booth's son, and the possibility that this could be the real reason that she felt a need to bond with Parker scared her more than anything.

_Well, the road-trip was going to be fun._

...

A/N: Okay, so there's the chapter - and I made sure to make it extra-long. It would have been up last night but my computer literally started to melt, so I needed to finish it up on a different computer this morning. We've technically got one more Parker day left, so it's really your call if I stick that one in or just go on to the road trip. I'd also love some feedback before week 3 starts as to anything you want me to include. So, as for the preview, up next could be either day 2 with Parker, the second end-of-the-week meeting with Sweets, or the first phase of the road trip. It's all up to you, so please let me know :)


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: Okay, I know I took forever to post again, but exam week is hell. Anyways, now it's all done, and over the summer I'll be writing a lot more often. Thanks for hanging in there :) This chapter is kinda just a filler, but I've got plans for the road trip and I think it should be fun. R&R._

Chapter 24 - The Meeting

Booth exhaled slowly, tapping his foot in agitation as he sat straight-backed next to his partner in the waiting room outside of Sweets' office. She'd come with him to drop Parker at Rebecca's on the way to their session, and while he could tell there was something she wanted to talk to him about, she'd been silent since his son had left. He wanted to say something, but she seemed to be in a state of intense contemplation, so instead of interrupting, he just marveled silently at how the waiting room couch had somehow managed to become even less comfortable than it had been on their last visit.

For the first time ever, he was relieved when Sweets opened his door to usher them in, and the friendly sentiment lasted right up until he sat down across from the therapist.

Sweets smiled brightly, crossing his hands carefully on the desk in front of him. "Agent Booth, Dr Brennan; it's nice to see you guys. Unless I'm mistaken, you've had a pretty eventful week." When they didn't reply, hi grin faltered slightly, and he continued in his professional tone. "Agent Booth, I couldn't help but notice that you hesitated when you put your hand on Dr Brennan's back just a moment ago, even though it's something that you do on a regular basis - is there any reason why that might be?"

Booth opened his mouth, then closed it again, any positive sentiments he had had when he entered the room quickly melting away. "Wha - how is that even relevant? Look, Bones and I just spent a week sharing a house, okay? And my kid came over. That's gotta be like Christmas for a therapist - so are you sure you wanna waste your whole hour talking about -" his eyes shifted awkwardly towards his partner, voice lowering as he leaned in towards Sweets. "- her _back_?"

She frowned at him out of the corner of her eye, lowering her voice to match his. "Why are we whispering?"

He glared at her, and she stared back in confusion, her voice still at a whisper. "... What?"

Sweets laughed inwardly before forcing himself to return to his professional demeanor. "Agent Booth, I believe your hesitance to - _touch her_ _back -_ as you so aptly put it, is most likely the result of something that happened during the week."

They both stared at him blankly, and after a moment, he sighed. "Look, we all know that I'll ferret it out of you eventually; this is going to be a lot easier if you two just tell me."

When they still said nothing, he shoulders sank submissively. "Fine, we'll do it your way. The most likely reason for Agent Booth to hesitate before doing something that is normally so comfortable to him is because he's trying to over-compensate for something else."

Brennan nodded thoughtfully. "I can see that."

Booth frowned at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged. "Well you tried to conter-balance your percieved femininity by expressing an interest in inherently masculine things, so it follows that you'd do the same in this situation."

"What situation? He hasn't even told us what he thinks I'm trying to over-compensate _for_."

Brennan began to retaliate, but Sweets cut her off hastily, deciding this probably wouldn't be the best time for a brawl. "It could be any number of things, Agent Booth. The bottom line is that you feel like you've gotten too close to Dr Brennan recently - either emotionally or physically - and your trying to balance that out by cutting back on the physical contact the two of you normally share on a daily basis."

Booth scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sweets, - Bones and I deffinately do _not _touch eachother on a daily basis."

Sweets' tone was edged with boyish excitement. "What do you mean? Dude, why else do you think everyone thinks you're, like, a couple?

Wide-eyed, Booth turned to Brennan for support, but she just looked at him sympathetically. "You _do _touch me a lot, Booth."

His jaw slackened. "What? When!"

She lowered her voice so that only he could hear. "Well - you put you hand on my back whenever we go anywhere."

He looked at her in bewilderment for a moment before composing himself again. "I'm just keeping you safe, Bones, okay? It's my job. - And, hey, what about you?"

She raised an eyebrow smugly. "_I_ don't do anything."

"Oh, yeah?" The side of his mouth twitched into a playful smile. "Well was it nothing when you slept beside me that time I fell asleep on the floor?"

She gaped, and he grinned, pointing at her triumphantly. "Ha!"

She looked almost hurt. "You knew about that?"

He shrugged, the corner of his mouth raising shyly. "Well - who did you think covered you up?"

Her face was epressionless again. "When I woke up, you had the covers."

Booth frowned. "What?"

She raised an eyebrow. "_And _the pillow."

He opened his mouth to defend himself, but Sweets cut in once again. "Okay, very good, you two - we just got a lot of things out i the open there. Way to channel your emotions. However, I don't think the whole 'sleeping on the floor' issue is the root of your problem."

Brennan frowned. "It's not? But that's the closest we've been all study."

Apparently, they were all choosing to ignore the fact that Booth had slept in her bed earlier that week.

After a moment, Sweets shook his head. "When I said you two felt you had become too close, I was leaning more towards _emotionally._ Dr Brennan, tell me how you felt about Parker's visit."

"I-" she looked at Booth for encouragement, but he just stared back expectantly. She sighed. "It was - actually very nice."

"And Agent Booth, how do you think Dr Brennan interacted with your son?"

He caught her eye. "She was really good. Parker - he likes Bones a lot."

She smiled, and Booth nudged her gently with his elbow.

"You know, for a woman who doesn't see herself in a maternal role, you seemed to adjust very well to the situation with Parker, Dr Brennan."

She frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

He shrugged. "Just that that juxtaposition must have scared you."

Her forhead creased in contemplation. "Why would it scare me? I mean - I knew the situation was just temporary."

He looked at her meaningfully. "Because, Dr Brennan, perhaps you were wishing it wasn't."

She felt like she'd just been kicked in the stomach. Her mouth opened slightly, but she didn't say anything.

Booth turned on Sweets in her defense. "Hey, that was low - even for a twelve-year-old with serious control problems."

Sweets spoke tentatively. "Agent Booth, the purpose of this study is to -"

"Yeah I know, I've heard the speech. Look, we're doing this study for you, okay? So you might wanna try not to piss us of until , you know, _after _it's over."

Sweets sighed. "I think we've made some good progress today, but he study's useless if you just avoid whatever the two of you might be feeling. Nevertheless, I'm confident you two will have some significant break-throughs on the road-trip."

"Super."

Sweets raised an eyebrow. "It's a little late for sarcasm, Agent Booth - you two are gonna have to leave bright and early tomorrow morning if your gonna make it to this wedding on time."

Booth and Brennan looked at each-other, Booth's cheek muscles tightening into a wince.

_Oh God._


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 - Keys and Dresses

_Week Three: Road trip to Agent Stanfield's wedding _

_- Buy clothing and a wedding gift for Agent Stanfield_

_..._

"Just give me back the car keys."

"...No."

"You know, you make it _really _hard for anyone to have a civil conversation with you, Bones."

"I get it - you're touchy."

"Because you're nagging me."

"Because you won't let me drive."

"Because I always drive, Bones, okay? That's just the way it is. End of story."

"Don't dismiss me, Booth. This is a legitimate concern."

"Since when? I mean, I've been doing the driving since we became partners, and if memory serves, up until now, _you haven't stolen my keys!_"

She skirted his frenzied grab at the disputed object, her voice raising as he set his jaw angrily. "Well up until now, the car's been registered under your name. Now, however, we share it."

"Alright first of all, the SUV wasn't registered under my name either, Bones, okay? It belonged to the FBI. And second of all - this car does too. So nothing's changed - now hand over the keys."

He pulled them away once again, turning her back to stuff them in her jacket pocket. "In the outline Sweets gave us, he specifically stated that we're supposed to organize transportation in our _shared _vehicle, Booth -"

"Yeah, well, here's how the organizational pyramid goes when it comes to cars, Bones -" She turned to face him, and he gestured over her head with his hand. "- I'm on top."

Brennan looked up at his hand it coolly, and after a moment, he lowered it in awkward discomfort.

"You know what, Bones? You win. You can drive us to the mall, so we can get clothes and a wedding present. But after that, I'm driving. Deal?"

"Fine." After a moment, a smile slowly spread across her face. "I can't believe that actually worked."

He rolled his eyes and began to usher her out the door, hand on her back, as she continued to talk at him over her shoulder. "I thought you'd realize that I'm just as indisposed to visit Sweets as you are, but apparently -" she paused, hand fishing blindly in her jacket pocket. "Hey, Booth - where'd the keys go?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide in confusion, and his face broke into a bright grin. In his hand, the keychain clinked melodically as he dangled it infront of her face. Her mouth opened slightly, and he raised a cocky eyebrow. "See, now - there's a reason why I'm the cop."

"I don't know, Booth - stealing a set of _keys _sounds more like a crook to me." She snatched the keys from his grasp before pushing past him out the door. Halfway down the hall she turned to see him still standing in the doorway, smiling.

"You better hurry up, Booth, or I'm leaving without you."

...

Booth looked at Brennan expectantly as she emerged from the change-room, once again dressed in her normal clothes.

"Well, Bones - did you find anything?"

She smiled uncomfortably. "I think so."

He bounded over excitedly, beaming as he reached towards the garment in her hand.

Brennan pulled it away before he had a chance to grab it, frowning at him as she did so. "Not now, Booth."

His smile drooped. "What? Why not?"

"Just - you'll see it at the wedding."

He grasped for an excuse. "Well, what if it's some kind of, uh - nun dress or something? I mean-" he scoffed. "Remember what happened in Vegas?"

Her eyes widened. "That was your fault, Booth - you told me to dress like a teacher! And besides -" she poked him in the chest. "_what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas_."

He looked down at her finger, then back up at her face, grimacing slightly. "How do you even know that phrase?"

She stared at him blankly. "You taught it to me."

He stared back at her for a moment, then sighed submissively. "Fine. You buy the dress - I'll just be waiting for you over _here_." He motioned towards the door as he went. "With my back turned, _not _looking at whatever you're holding."

He flashed her a grin, turning his back as promised, and her gaze shifted down to the dress in her hands as she placed it on the counter. Angela had told her exactly which one to buy and where to buy it, and though she'd always trusted Angela's judgement over her own in any situation related to fashion, as she swept her credit-card through the machine she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to her friends' choice of garment than the fact that it was way too tight and waytoo expensive.

Brennan glanced over at Booth; standing in the corner, arms folded in front of his chest as he rocked back and forth on his heels impatiently.

_Deffinately._

...

A/N: I know it was short, but at least it was a faster update than last time. Anyways, the next chapter should be better since they're actually starting out on their road trip, and hopefully it'll also have the firt night it the hotel. We'll see how long it runs on... anyways, thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing, you hve no idea how happy they make me. Suggestions are welcome - if there's anything you guys wanna see, just let me know :)


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26 - Wheels

_- Navigate your way to location of ceremony_

_- Spend at least two nights in a one-bedroom hotel room_

_..._

"God, Bones - did you pack _everything _you own?"

Brennan shrugged. "I find that it's always best to be prepared."

Booth scoffed as he heaved the last suitcase into the back of the car. "That's exactly what Hodgins says when he's trying to defend his paranoid ramblings. And you know what-" he slammed the trunk shut, and turned to point at her. "- this is just as bad."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're just upset because the FBI is making you drive the tiny car to the wedding instead of giving you back your SUV."

His shoulders slumped, the edge in his tone melting away immediately. "Why couldn't they have just ... let me have my wheels back? I mean-" he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest "the trunk would have been easier to cram all your suitcases in, for one thing."

"It also burns twice as much gas, not to mention the amount of pollution you'd be -"

"Bad for the environment. Got it. Look - as interesting as this is, we've gotta go or we're gonna be late." Halfway towards the drivers door, he turned to smirk at her. "I'll just, you know - Google it later or something."

She rolled her eyes, and followed him around the front of the car to sit in the passangers seat.

_This was going to be fun._

...

They had barely left the driveway, and had already managed to get lost. Convinced he knew where they were going, Booth had ignored his partner's advice and stayed on the highway instead of turning off, leaving them not only heading in the wrong direction, but also unable to turn around.

Brennan sighed tiredly. "Booth, we need to go back."

"Look, Bones, I'm gonna get us there, okay? Just - have a little faith."

"You know, this road's not going to take us there just because you close your eyes and wish really hard."

"Don't be so cynical, Bones-" He drummed the steering wheel with his thumbs. "I have a knack for this type of thing."

She laughed sarcasically. "Oh I get it, now your _gut _is navigating for us."

"Do you have a problem with my gut?"

She shrugged. "Not at all." His appreciative smile faded quickly as she added under her breath, "I was just hoping to get there _before _the wedding ends."

He exhaled deeply. "Fine, we'll do it your way. Just - hand me the map."

Her eyebrows raised. "If you want to navigate, Booth, you can let me drive."

"Yeah, nice try, Bones. Look - whatd'ya say we just ... change the topic, okay?"

She shrugged again. "Fine."

"Great."

There was a long pause before Brennan began to speak again, her tone softer. "You believe in weddings, right?"

"Weddings happen every day, Bones - it's kinda hard _not _to believe in them."

She rolled her eyes. "I just meant - you ... agree with the concept, right?"

He nodded slowly, careful to keep his eyes on the road. "Yeah, Bones, I do - and I know you don't, but..."

He let his sentance trail off. Brennan looked over at him. "It's fine, Booth." She paused. "I know that you think its important. That's all I need to know."

He observed her for a long moment before smiling out of the corner of his eye. "You know ... you might change your mind this weekend."

The side of her mouth twitched upwards. "I doubt it."

"Come on, Bones - everybody has fun at weddings. Just ... do what people do. You might surprise yourself."

He let his eyes linger on her a moment longer before turning back to the road, tapping the steering wheel as he drove. When he spoke again, his voice was deliberately casual.

"So ... you brought your dress?"

She frowned over at him. "Yes, I deffinately brought the dress I bought _for_ the wedding _to _the wedding."

He nodded slowly. "And - you're sure I'm not allowed to look at it?"

"I don't understand your fascination with my dress, Booth." She looked over at him calmly, but she felt her chest tightening.

He shrugged, deliberately avoiding eye contact. "What do you say we put on some tunes."

She continued to watch him as he flicked on the radio, turning the dial blindly to try and find something discernible through the static fuzz.

_Fact: Booth is thinking a lot about that dress._

...

The windows were tinted black by the time they were back on track towards their destination. Booth had finally admitted defeat and stopped at a nearby gas station to ask for directions, and by he time he returned to the car, Brennan was beginning to doze off. He shook her shoulder gently, and she awoke with a start, smiling up at him tiredly.

"Hey. Up you get, Bones - we're good to go."

She propped her elbow up against the windshield, head resting in her palm as she watched him climb into the drivers seat. "That must have been hard for you - I know how much you hate asking for help."

He was about to retort when she yawned widely. "Geez, Bones - you look like you're trying to catch flies over there."

She just frowned. "I don't know what that means."

He jumped into the drivers seat, closing the door and turning to fact her. "It means you look tired."

"I'm not tired, I'm just -" her phrase was cut off by another yawn, which she attempted to stifle without avail. "-hungry."

"You know, Bones - you don't have to stay up for me. I mean, I'm the one who got us lost in the first place."

She shrugged. "It's okay - I want to keep you company."

He grinned proudly. "Hey - thanks, Bones-" Booth let his sentance tril of as something caught his eye out her window. The car that had just pulled out was soon pulling over to the side of the road again.

Brennan frowned groggily. "What are you doing, Booth? We just came from here."

He began to get out of the car. "I'll just be a minute."

She sighed in exasperation. "We're never gonna get there."

"Bones, just trust me, okay? You'll be glad I stopped." He flashed her a quick grin before hopping out of the car once again.

As the sound of his footsteps on the gravel faded into the distance, her eyes slowly began to slide shut. The overhead light flickered off, plunging her into complete darkness, and the sudden weight of her lethargy hit her like a freight train.

...

Booth trotted back to the car, grinning excitedly, a large bag of Thai take-out in each hand.

"Hey, Bones, look what I found at the-"

He halted abruptly when he saw his partner, curled up on her seat with her head pressed uncomfortably against the windshield, fast asleep. Dropping the bags of take-out in the space between their seats, he took off his jacket and got in the car, carefully closing the door so as not to disturb her. After switching off the radio and the overhead light (which had flickered back on the moment he had opened the car door), he folded his coat and leaned over, lifting her head gently with one hand and placing the make-shift pillow under her neck with the other. He swallow a laugh when she grunted uncerimoniously as he settled her back against the seat, and, after a moment's debate, gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face before leaning back to admire his handiwork. She didn't seem any more comfortable than she had against she cold glass, but somehow, it still made him feel better that he had tried.

Stealing one last glance at her limp frame, he pulled back onto the road for a long night of driving. He had fought her tooth-and-nail to be able to be behind the wheel, but at that moment, he would have given anything to be in her place.

_That, Agent Booth, is irony._

...

Brennan woke with a start as a trunk slammed shut somewhere behind her. In front of her were several un-opened bags of take-out food, and she was lying on someone's jacket. Disoriented, she pushed herself into a sitting position, squinting into the darkness for Booth's outline.

He was just bringing the last one of Brennan's bags into their small one-bedroom motel room when it started to rain. Ducking through the doorway, he set down the suitase, the bag from the store where his partner had bought her dress earlier that day catching his eye. He was trying to sneak a peak without actually _touching _her things when he heard movement in the doorway.

Booth turned to see Brennan standing in the threshold, damp from her walk through the rain. Smiling to himself at the sight of her messy hair, he hurriedly kicked the bag out of sight and turned to look at her.

"Hey, sleepy-head. Welcome back."

Her mouth curved into a smile, and she held up the two take-out bags in her hands. "I see you bought Thai."

"Yeah..." he slolwy began to make his way over to her. "But it's cold."

She closed the door behind her, looking at him appreciatively. "Thanks, Booth."

He shrugged. "Hey - you've gotta eat, right?"

"Yeah -" she scrunched her face apologetically. "I'm sorry I feel asleep on you. I'm not a very good travelling companion, I guess."

"Don't worry about it; you were tired."

Her eyebrows raised as they sunk down onto the edge of the bed beside eachother. "And I'm not the one who got us lost."

He laughed sarcastically. "Funny, Bones."

She smiled slightly. "Although I have to admit, besides that obvious error-"

"Which we've agreed not to discuss..."

"-I actually enjoyed myself today."

He turned to look at her, his voice softening. "Yeah - me too."

When it felt like she should be looking away, she yawned again, and both sets of eyes gravitated towards the single washroom as their thoughts turned to sleep.

Booth's mouth opened and closed awkwardly as he looked from Brennan to the bathroom. "Do you, uh - wanna -" he gestured uncomfortably, "go first?"

Smiling to herself at his discomfort, she nodded tiredly and began to trudge toward the bathroom door, flashing him a quick smile before closing it behind her. He sat stiffly at the corner of the bed, listening to the water turning on and off and wondering vaguely what could possibly be taking her so long, until she finally emerged, hair falling in loose waves around her shoulders and face scrubbed clean.

Booth looked at her hesistantly, more uncomfortable than ever. After a moment, though, he stood up.

"I'll just -" he pointed towards the room she had just vacated, staring at her blankly for a moment before hastily trotting through the door, almost afraid of what he might find on the other side as he closed it behind him. When he finally emerged, awkwardness greatly subdued, he found Brennan making up the couch with spare sheets and pillows.

"Hey - thanks, Bones."

She turned to look up at his cocky grin. "Oh, it's not for you - it's for me."

"What? No - you have to take the bed. You're more tired than I am."

Her eyebrows raised. "I'm not the one who's been driving all day."

"Look, Bones - I'm the one who got us lost, okay? And I'm the one who's sleeping on the couch."

She frowned at him. "That's not necessary."

They stared at eachother for a moment, and her eyes narrowed. "If this is because I'm a woman, Booth, that is an antiquated tradtition that has no place in-"

"Woah - Bones." He held up his hands defensively. "Wayyyy too late for a lecture, thanks. Look - we'll trade off. I'll take the couch tomorrow night, hows that?"

She put her hands on her hips. "If we're trading off, I might as well drive tomorrow too."

He scoffed. "Yeah, nice try, Bones - y_ou_ fell asleep today. That means no driving."

She opened her mouth defensively. "Wha-? You left me all alone!"

"To bring you dinner."

"Cold dinner."

"Cold because you fell asleep."

She spoke as if trying to explain something particularly difficult to someone particularly slow. "I feel asleep ... because _you_ went to get dinner."

He paused. "You've already said that."

Sighing deeply, she sank down onto the bed, looking up at him tiredly and realizing she didn't have the energy to get back up. "Why don't we just - call it a night?" She raised an eyebrow, smiling coyly. "I'll bet that couch is looking pretty good right about now."

As Booth got himself settled in his make-shift bed, Brennan crawled under the thick motel covers and settled herself against the high stack of pillows.

Once he was comortable, Booth turned to her quickly before flicking off the lights. "Night, Bones."

Her voice was quiet; almost to herself. "Goodnight, Booth."

...

A/N: Okay, so long chapter. I've got the rest of the story all mapped out, 30 chapters in total, but your feedback is still important - if theres anything you want, let me know, and I'll try and put it in. Plus, I love the reviews :) Next up, they'll arrive at the hotel they'll be staying at for the wedding, and go out for their 'fancy dinner'.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 - Fancied Up

_- Go out for dinner somewhere fancy_

_..._

Brennan rubbed her eyes tiredly as the motel door opened, shedding the small room with a stream of mid-morning sun. Her grogginess quickly lifted as a dark silhouette stepped through the door, and she sat bold upright, feeling around for something heavy before realizing her potential assailant was Booth, holding a bag of breakfast rather than a weapon.

She sighed heavily, slumping back against the pillows and dropping her hands to her lap.

"Booth ... You surprised me."

He smirked. "A little jumpy this morning, Bones?"

She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just don't like waking up in unfamiliar places... It disorients me."

He began to make his way slowly towards her, the corner on his mouth raising into a smile. "You know, that's funny coming from the person who slept in a different room _every night_ at home."

She was leaning forward, hand outstretched to claim the bag he was offering her, when she froze. He stared at her blank expression for a moment before catching his error. "I mean - the apartment."

She nodded. "Which belongs to the FBI."

"Not us."

"Right."

Brennan's gaze dropped to her hands, her chest tightening. After a moment, Booth cleared his throat, and when she looked up, he was smiling tentatively, the bag of breakfast held out in offering once again.

"... Hungry?"

She grinned back, taking the bag and opening it curiously as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Extremely. What'd you get?"

His eyes flickered to the side guiltily as her smile melted into wide-eyed disappointment. She extracted the contents of the bag and shook them experimentally before turning to her partner in exasperation.

_"Chips?"_

He couldn't stiffle his smile. "It was all I could find, Bones - we're in the middle of nowhere."

She swatted him with the offending object, and he raised his hands defensively, scooting to the side quickly to evade a second assault. "Hey - we'll get something on the way, okay? I promise."

After a moment's consideration, she dropped the chips into her lap. "From where?"

He grinned. "Road food, Bones - gotta love it."

...

In the time it took Brennan to shower and change, Booth, gripped by sudden guilt, had gone out on a second breakfast run, and by the time she came out of the bathroom, patting her damp hair with a towel, he was already seated smugly at the kitchen table, a new bag displayed proudly in front of him.

She took in the scene, smiling slightly at his satisfied expression.

"It seems like you're always trying to _feed _me, Booth."

He shrugged, tossing her a bagel.

"Yeah, well ... I'm a good provider."

She rolled her eyes, grabbing her suitcase as the two of them made their way out to the car.

"So - speaking of food ... where are we going to dinner tonight?"

He frowned as he climbed into the drivers seat beside her.

"What?"

She took another bite of her bagel before beginning. "Well, Sweets' list says to go to dinner somewhere fancy, and I'm guessing the cold Thai food last night didn't count, so..."

"Look, we'll figure something out, Bones, okay? We're staying in a pretty nice area tonight."

She shrugged. "Fine."

They sat in silence for a moment, and, as was his habit, Booth was soon tapping the steering wheel restlessly. After another long pause, he remembered, something, and he turned to Brennan, trying to keep his tone casual.

"So ... are you gonna wear the dress?"

Brennan rolled her eyes. "I packed more than one dress, Booth."

"Well," He laughed skeptically. "I just hope this one's not -"

Her eyebrows raised warningly. "If you make another nun or teacher reference, then _I'm_ driving."

He scoffed. "I'm pretty sure that's not gonna happen, Bones."

She frowned. "Why not?"

"'Cause I think you might have a _little_ trouble getting me out of this seat."

She shrugged. "I'm sure I could manage."

He frowned hesitntly. "... How?"

Her gaze wandered passively to the passenger side window. "I'm fairly certain you don't want to know."

After a moment, the corner of his mouth rose slowly. Turning back at the sound of a chuckle, Brennan looked at him blankly.

"... What?"

Booth just smiled and shook his head. "You're a very surprising woman, Bones, you know that?"

...

The hotel was conveniently located a half-hour away from the hall where the reception was to take place, fully equipped with a pool and casino, and situated in a nice part of town.

Brennan looked around their spacious bedroom, its one king-sized bed adorned with chocolates on each of its thick pillows, and the large flat-screen television proudly displayed in a sturdy oak cabinet. Booth's excited laugh resinated from somewhere near the kitchen, his muffled voice just audible through the walls.

"Hey, Bones - this is great!"

After a moment, his head popped through the doorway. "Whad'ya think?"

As she continued to scan the room, her eyebrows raised appreciatively. "It's considerably better than the motel."

He grinned. "Come on out, Bones - wait 'till you see the mini-bar."

She opened her mouth to protest, but before she had a chance to say anything, he was dragging her from the room by the sleeve of her jacket.

"They've got two kinds of pretzels!"

...

They were sitting side-by-side on the couch forty-five minutes later, each with a beer in hand. Booth exhaled deeply, stretching his arms back behind him lazily.

"You know - I don't think the FBI has ever actually _payed_ for me to stay in a hotel before."

Brennan frowned at him. "I don't understand - where do you normally stay?"

He shrugged, taking another swig from his bottle. "Usually a motel or something, like last night."

She nodded knowinly. "Ahhh - because of your low expenditure limit. That would explain your excitement over the pretzels."

"Don't say it like that, Bones, alright?" His eyes narrowed. "It makes you sound snotty."

She continued, unphased. "I'm just stating an objective fact, Booth; there's not need to get offended - the FBI alotts me more money than you."

"Yeah, yeah, okay - enough chit chat. Time to get dressed for dinner, Bones - we've got a reservation at the restaurant downstairs in an hour and if we're late we'll miss it."

He guided her persistantly towards the washroom as she reached around to grab her dress bag, hair curler, and other necissary artifacts. After ushering her through the door, he pulled off his watched and slipped it over her slim wrist, holding on a moment too long.

"Keep it quick, Bones."

She touched the spot on her wrist where his hand had been. "I'll be ready."

Booth watched her dissapear behind the door, waiting there until the lock clicked shut. Smoothing out the creases in his pants, he inhaled deeply, exhaled, and then wandered off to the bedroom to find his flashiest tie.

...

He'd seen Brennan dressed up plenty of times before, but something about watching her emerge for the first time in a new dress, hair curled and make-up freshly finished, never seemed to get old. This time was no different, and as the bathroom door creaked open and he turned to watch his partner teeter shyly into the room on her unfamiliar heels, Booth felt the familiar kick in the pit of his stomach, and, as usual, found he had to remind himself to breathe normally.

Brennan came to a stop in front of him, allowing a small smile as she adusted the front of her dress carefully.

"Was that fast enough for you?"

Booth opened his mouth, then shut it, reminding himself as he did so of an over-sized fish.

"Yeah - I did."

Brennan frowned in momentarily confusion over his misplaced answer, but decided to ignore it as she began to wander around the room in search of her purse. After a pause, Booth disappeared sulkily into the bathroom, suit in hand.

_Smooth. _

_..._

They emerged from the suite a half-hour later, Brennan locking the door behind them before stashing the key card in her purse. Booth scoffed as she began to teeter dangerously once again on her high heels.

Booth smiled to himself as he watched her. "You know, Bones, you should really consider getting some shoes that you can actually _walk _in next time."

Brennan was about to throw him an angry glance when she swayed violently again, catching herself just in time. Instead, she just groaned in frustration.

"I hate dressing up, Booth - I feel like a completely different person."

He bumped her shoulder sympathetically, nearly causing another accident in doing so.

"I think you just need to relax, Bones. It's just you and me - going to dinner as usual."

She scoffed. "Yeah - except I'm in 3-inch heels."

"Hey -" he pointed at her accusingly. "No one made you wear those."

She opened her mouth defensively. "Wha-? You said to dress fancy, Booth! _You _told me that."

"Yeah, well - I don't think I mentioned that you also had to be the tallest person in the room."

"Fine."

Brennan bent down to take off the shoes, but Booth caught her arm before it had reached her feet.

"Hey, wait, Bones - I was just kidding."

She frowned at him, pulling her arm away as she straightened up.

The corner of his mouth flickered into a smile. "You look great."

Brennan scrunched her nose uncertainly. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." After a moment, he cleared his throat. "Now let's get downstairs before they give our table to someone else, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, catching herself on his shoulder as they made their way towards the elevators. "This better be worth it."

He grinned. "Are you kidding me, Bones? We're talking _steak_ - that's God's food."

She laughed, shaking her head, as the elevator doors sprang open.

...

The restaurant was crowded, but Booth and Brennan's corner table was secluded enough to allow them a pleasant meal and an impressive number of post-dinner drinks, and it was late before they finally made their way back to their room.

Brennan was laughing, and Booth watched her face light up as she leaned against the cool elevator wall.

"You know, Bones - we should really do this more often."

Her laughter subsided, but she was still smiling skeptically. "Do what - get dressed up in uncomfortable clothes and go out for a ridiculously over-priced dinner?"

"Hang out."

Brennan's forehead creased in confusion. "Hang what out?"

"Hang out, Bones ... you know ... like tonight, but in comfortable clothes."

She looked at him thoughtfully, propping her elbow up against the railing that ran along the wall. "We already do - after our cases."

"I mean away from all the cases, Bones. Just - you and me."

"... Hanging out."

"It's what friends do."

He could see her concentrating as she tried to follow his train of thought "- and we are friends."

"Yeah," He flashed her a grin, "we're good together."

She looked at him seriously. "... We really are."

The elevator rumbled to a halt, forcing them back to reality, and they took the short walk back to the room in silence until Brennan turned to Booth, hand deep in her purse as she fished for their door card.

"Why haven't we?"

He frowned. "Why haven't we what?"

"You know ..." she frowned at her purse distractedly, "... hung in."

"Hung _out_, Bones - it's called hanging _out. _And we do."

"I thought you just said we don't."

He shrugged. "We just don't get much chance. I mean - we're already together most of the time anyways._"_

Brennan nodded slowly. At last, she found the key card, and as the lock popped open, Booth reached over to get the door.

"Welcome home, Bones."

She smiled hesitantly back at him, knowing she should feel like she was crossing some sort of line but wondering why she didn't.

_Look at the facts._

...

**a/n: **I know it's been a while, but I've been off with friends and I haven't had regular access to my computer. I found this chapter a little boring, but I was too lazy to re-write it, so I'm just gonna make up for it with the wedding next chapter :) Still love th reviews, guys.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 - The Dress

_- Go together to Agent Stanfield's wedding and reception_

...

Booth was in the kitchen, an open carton of eggs and a pile of grated cheese on the counter beside him. It would have been considerably more convenient for him to have ordered up room service, but whether it was her irregular sleep pattern or just his intuition, something told him that his partner had been feeling particularily vulnerable lately, and cooking seemed the most obvious way to take care of her without seeming pushy.

As an added bonus, the meditative activity allowed Booth the rare opportunity to reflect on the previous weeks without interruption or distraction. While he was more accustomed to introspection than Brennan, sorting through his emotions was something he tended to avoid not because he was afraid of uncovering some hidden truth, but simply because he already knew what he would find.

Booth was attempting to bury that thought at the back of his mind when something out of the corner of his eye made him jump. He found himself face-to-face with Brennan, her frame draped in a large hotel house coat to protect the skin otherwise left exposed by her pyjamas.

"Bones, I -"

_Stop stammering_.

"I - you scared me. Don't do that."

Slightly taken aback, she took in his wide eyes and nervous swallow, wondering vaguely what he could have been thinking about that would have made him so uncomfortable.

_... Or maybe it's just my pyjamas._

Hastily wrapping the house-coat more tightly around herself, she frowned slightly.

"Don't do what ... scare you?"

He looked at her with frustration. "No, Bones - don't hover in doorways and watch people, okay? Especially if you're going to be that quiet. It's just not normal."

Brennan's mouth opened in protest. "Wha-? Booth you're making me sound like some sort of stalker! I was just observing your culinary methodology."

He chortled. "Yeah, well, that doesn't make it sound any less _weird._"

Instead of saying anything, she just crossed her arms defensively over her chest and sat down violently on one of the bar stools. When her eyes wandered back towards her partner, his smugness had been replaced by concern.

After a moment, she sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry, Booth - it's been a weird week."

He pulled out a bar stool and sat next to her, giving her a small half-smile. After a moment, she laughed to herself, rubbing her eyes tiredly before turning to face Booth.

"- I can't believe Sweets actually got us to agree to this."

He scoffed. "Tell me about it. I mean - I thought we had that kid _whipped_."

She paused, frowning. "Whipped?"

Booth's smile quickly faded. "Never mind, Bones. Look - the point is - he's obviously very good at his job."

"Well, seeing as his job is to manipulate and distort simple issues and make them seem complex -" she slumped slightly, sighing. "- I would have to say that he is _extremely _good at his job."

"Don't be so cynical, Bones - Sweets' helped us out a lot. And, hey -" he flashed her a quick smile. "It hasn't all been bad."

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards, and he laughed, taking in her messy hair and mascara smudges. After a moment, she gave him a questioning frown.

"... What?"

He chuckled. "It's nothing."

Her frown only intensified. "What, Booth?"

"It's just -" He sighed in resignation. "Ah, you look like hell, Bones."

"Hey-" her eyebrows raised as she scrutinized his frame. "You don't look so great yourself."

He snorted. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure _I'm_ not the one with a pillow mark printed across my forehead. - Look, I think I've got you on this one, okay Bones?"

She rolled her eyes, but as Booth stood to serve up breakfast, her hand traveled instinctively up to her face.

_Pillow mark? Oh God._

...

"So ... tell me about this Agent Stanfield." Brennan called, turning her head so she could be heard through the closed bathroom door as she twisted a strand of hair around the curling iron.

Booth sat awkwardly on the edge of the couch, listening to his partner's muffled voice through the thick wood and staring distractedly at the spot where he figured she was probably standing.

"Uh - I've known him since I joined the Bureau. He's a good guy - we trained together."

"So ... you two are _friends_, then?"

Booth frowned in the direction of her voice. "What's with the tone, Bones? ... What - you thought you were my only friend?"

"Wha-? No, Booth - that's not what I meant. I just ... thought I knew all your friends, that's all."

"You've met Cam." His voice was slow, as if explaining something particularly difficult to someone particularly slow. "That's _one _friend."

"Well, in the future, I will be sure to bear in mind that you have _more_ than two friends, Booth."

"Thanks, Bones - I appreciate that." He nodded to himself, before continuing hesitantly. "Seriously, though, _two _friends? You thought I had _two _friends?"

Brennan sighed, putting down her hair curler. "Well, you've never mentioned him before, and alpha-male tendencies such as yours are often congruent with-"

"Wait, wait, wait -" Booth stood up, holding out his hand, though she couldn't see it through the door. "Look, I'm tired of you using this alpha-male-thing against me, alright? Besides - even if I am an alpha-male-"

"Which you are-"

"Which I _may be -_", he took a step towards the door as he corrected her. "It doesn't make me a loner."

"... The two are usually connected."

This would have made him angry if her tone wasn't so gentle. Exhaling deeply, he made his way back over to the couch and sat down, deciding it would be best to change the subject.

"Look, Bones, the wedding's in an hour - you almost ready to go?"

For a long moment, she said nothing. Then, after a confused pause, Booth walked tentatively over and tapped gently on the door.

"Bones? You okay in there?"

Her muffled voice was barely audible through the door.

"I - don't think my dress fits, Booth."

He rolled his eyes. "You tried it on. _Twice_."

"We ate a lot last night -"

"It fits, Bones."

"An excess of salt can cause the body to retain water, which can result in bloating, lymphatic edema, -"

"You had chicken and salad. There wasn't any salt."

"How about the wine? Studies have proven that wine can cause swelling, Booth - I can't come out."

He chuckled, leaning against the door frame. "Look, Bones, you're going to have to come out eventually."

"... Why?"

"Because pretty soon, you're going to run out of excuses not to."

She scoffed. "If I were you, I wouldn't bet any money on it -"

His jaw clenched slightly. "Easy on the gambling digs, okay, Bones? Just ... come out."

There was another long pause before he heard her sigh in resignation.

"Fine, Booth, but you can't laugh."

Boorh raised his eyes in exasperation. "Fine, Bones - I promise not to laugh."

"Last time you said that, you laughed."

"Scouts honour, Bones."

He could tell even from the opposite side of the door that she was frowning in confusion, but he let it pass. After a moment, the knob turned slowly, the hinges creaked open, and she stepped out into the room. Booth was struck by an all-too-familiar flashback of the night in Las Vegas when she had emerged for the first time as Roxy, totally unaware of how good she looked in her tight black dress and heels. The only difference was that tonight, she wasn't pretending to be anyone else; she was just Brennan, and that made it that much better.

"Wow, Bones -" He gave her a quick half-smile, happy that his tongue seemed to be working normally. "-And I thought you looked good yesterday."

She scrunched her nose slightly, looking down at herself unsurely for a moment. "...Yeah?"

He took a step closer, forcing her to look up. "Yeah."

After a pause, his serious expression melted easily into a grin. "You sure you wanna go into a church wearing something that tight, though?"

She shoved his shoulder, causing him to falter considerably more than intended, before turning to grab her purse. "I told you, Booth - I didn't pick it out; Angela did."

_And he had picked out the dress in Vegas._

"You know, Bones, you should really let other people dress you more often."

She flipped open her phone to check the time, frowning distractedly at the 12 new text-messages that had appeared from Angela. "I think I manage fine on my own, Booth."

He shrugged. "I'm just saying ... once in a while, it's nice to be able to -", realizing he had lost her attention, Booth strained over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the screen. "What're you looking at?"

She stached the phone hurriedly in her purse, careful not to look at him. "Its, uh - nothing. Don't we have a wedding to get to?"

"Right." He grabbed the keys and rushed out of the suite, making it half-way to the elevators before realizing something was missing. Confused, he turned back to see Brennan, chewing on her lip as she re-adjusted her dress uncomfortably in the doorway.

He rolled his eyes, jogging back towards her. "Come on, Bones - you're gonna make us late."

Brennan looked up from her dress for the first time, mouth opening slightly as he took her arm and began to march her away. She slapped his hand, trotting to keep up with him, but smiling all the same. When a particularly well-placed slap finally persuaded him to relinquish his grip, and his hand had returned to the small of her back, she couldn't help but think that maybe the wedding wouldn't be so terrible after all.

_And maybe Angela _had _picked the right dress._

...

A/N: Okay, next is the wedding and reception, and then the trip back to DC and the last meeting with Sweets. Two chapters to go, and I'd just like to thank allll of you for all the amazing support and input I've gotten along the way. I need it more now than ever, because I'd hate to disappoint on the last chapters - but instead of begging for reviews, I'm just gonna say I'm really glad you've all hung in this far.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29 - The Wedding

_- Go together to Agent Stanfield's wedding and reception_

When it comes to the subject of weddings, there are no two identical perspectives. We all view the festivities with varying degrees of acceptance and understanding, and depending on our position on the issue, we may see it as an pitiable misfortune rather than an event worthy of celebration. The only thing every member of our society has in common when it comes to the subject of matrimony is that it is, whether welcome or not, it is a cultural staple that we cannot ignore.

Having accepted this anthropological inevitability, Brennan was now sitting at the back of a crowded church, staring at the priest and wondering as she did so how many people in the room actually saw validity in the ceremony taking place. Frowning, she turned to her partner, who was sitting next to her with his eyes fixed unwaveringly at the bride and groom, and tapped his shoulder gently.

"Booth -"

He hissed at her out of the corner of his mouth. "Not the best time, Bones."

After casting him a quick frown, she looked around at the silent crowd, exhaling slowly as she nodded to herself. Still, after a moment of respectful silence, she leaned towards her partner and began to speak once again, albeit more quietly.

"What's the priest talking about?"

Booth stared determindely ahead at the bride and groom, his voive low. "Maybe if you listened, you'd find out."

After fixing the side of his head with an angry glare, Brennan focused her attention on the same point.

Though she understood very little of what the priest was saying, the wide grins spread across the faces of the couple standing before them told her everything she needed to know. Sitting next to her, Booth was smiling to himself, and as she glanced over at him, Brennan couldn't help but think that as well as he understood the Bible references being made, he wasn't smiling because of what the priest was saying either.

After letting her eyes linger on her partner for another moment, Brennan turned her attention back to the front of the isle, her perspective on the ceremony entirely changed.

...

Booth turned to swipe another drink from the tray of a passing caterer, flashing his partner a self-satisfied smile as he pointed eagerly at his prize. Taking a sip, he made his way back over to where they had been standing, observing the activity of the reception in the hall in front of them as they stood near the ordoeurves at the back of the room.

Booth sighed, leaning against the rickety table and causing it to slide back several inches.

"You know, Bones - you really need to learn how to _party_."

She gave him a confused mixture of a smile and a frown. "... What?"

He put down his drink and moved around to stand beside her, pointing out into the dancing crowd before them. "Well, look around you, Bones - a whole room of people and culture for you to observe, and you're stuck over here, by the cheese rolls."

"I'm actually here for the jalapeno puffs, but I see your point."

"Come on, Bones - you said you wanted to understand weddings better, so here's your chance. Time to get out there and experience it; you know - do what people do." He flashed her a grin, and she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want me to do, Booth - drain the open bar and then dance on a table?"

"No..." he leaned in towards her. "But dancing doesn't sound like such a bad start."

She laughed nervously. "I ... don't dance."

"Why not? Look, come on - I promise to dance just as spazzy as you do."

"I do not dance spazzy, Booth."

He raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm just saying - no judgement here."

After a moment, she rolled her eyes, smiling slightly, before reaching forward and grabbing his outstretched hand. He smiled at her out of the corner of his eye as they made their way to the dance floor, and they were just beginning to join the pulsating crowd as the lights dimmed and the music slowed. Booth looked like a deer caught in the headlights, eyes wide as he looked down at the hand that was now intertwined with his partner's.

Brennan's mouth opened slightly and she looked away, but she never let go. Realizing he had a decision to make, Booth looked nervously around the room at the other happy couples moving towards each-other to adjust to the change of tempo. Making up his mind, he gripped his partner's hand more tightly, causing her to look up at him. After a moment, he forced a smile.

"Well - are we dancing or what?"

The side of her mouth flickered upwards, and, exhaling, she took a step closer to him, feeling his breath on her ear as she raised her hand to his shoulder. They started off stiffly, both avoiding the other's gaze except for the odd awkward smile, but as the music began to pull them in, their movements became more natural, and the throngs of people surrounding them seemed to melt away; it was just the two of them, as always.

Brennan felt Booth's hand slip around her waist to the small of her back, where it rested with familiarity, pulling her forward until she was too close to see his face. Instead, she was immediately presented with his broad shoulder, over which she could see another woman leaning her head comfortably on her companion. Chest tightening, Brennan looked down at the shoulder again, suddenly filled with the inexplicable urge to rest her chin on it. She glanced nervously up at Booth's ear, the only part of his face that she could still see, before focusing her gaze back on the shoulder.

_'Come on, Bones - do what people do.'_

Biting her lip, she lowered her head tentatively until it was just touching him. After a moment, her apprehension slipped away and her eyes slid closed as she rested her chin fully on his shoulder, arm coming around his back. Frowning slightly, Booth realized that they had suddenly gone from dancing to hugging, but, as he felt his partner sink into him, he decided that he liked it better this way anyways. His only complaint was that, after the difficult few weeks they had both been forced into, they hadn't gotten around to it sooner.

_Fact: Brennan's head fit perfectly onto Booth's shoulder._

...

Brennan and Booth slumped down onto a pair of chairs at the edge of the dance floor, breathing hard as they smiled at one another.

"Geez, Bones - I haven't danced that much in _years_."

She laughed, resting her cheek lazily on her hand. "I have_ never _danced that much. Are my feet supposed to hurt like this?"

He was opening his mouth to answer when an unfamiliar voice interrupted from over his shoulder.

"Why don't you let Booth fix that up for you - he gives one hell of a foot massage."

Booth's face broke into a grin as he stood up and turned to hug the tall man standing behind him.

"Charlie! How are ya?"

"Well, I just got married, didn't I?"

"Congratulations, man - Karen seems great."

Agent Stanfield shrugged. "Yeah, well, she's a wild one alright - and almost as good a dancer as your girlfriend here."

He nodded towards Brennan, holding out his hand to her. "Charlie Stanfield, but you can call me Charlie."

She shook it, glancing uncomfortably at Booth. "It's nice to meet you, Charlie - and I'm not his girlfriend."

He shrugged again, pushing his hands into his pockets and raising his eyebrows. "... My mistake."

Booth frowned at him, but Charlie spoke again before he had a chance to say anything. "Hey, I'd better get back to the reception, but it was good to see you, Booth. Karen and I would love to have the two of you over for dinner - that is, once you've sorted out your vague relationship status."

Brennan opened her mouth, but with a wink , Agent Stanfield was gone. Raising her eyebrows, she turned to Booth, sitting back down on her chair.

"I found him extremely condescending."

"Ah, come on, Bones - he's just joking. Besides -" he flashed her a grin. "I think it's about time for you to partake in a social-wedding-ritual-...whatever."

She scoffed as he began to pull her up out of her chair. "What - more than dancing with you?"

"Yeah." He guided her steadily to the other end of the room where a crowd of women was beginning to form in front of the stage before turning to frin at her. "-You're going to go catch the bouquet."

Her eyes widened, and she attempted to reclaim her arm. "What? Booth! I don't even believe in that!"

He just prodded her towards the pack of screaming women, turning to smile at her once again when they reached the edge of the crowd. "Good luck, Bones - try not to get trampled."

"Wha-? Booth! Where are you going?"

She turned to look for him as she was sucked into the excitable congregation, but he was nowhere to be found. Making a mental note to chastise him later, she turned back towards the front of the room just as something came flying towards her head. At the mercy of her reflexes, Brennan quickly reached up to snatch the object out of the air before it collided with her face. It was only once she had it firmly in her grasp that she realized it was the bouquet of flowers.

Booth faught his way through the crowd of cheering women, laughing at her shocked expression as she stared down at the object in her hand.

"Hey, Bones - you caught it!"

She was just opening her mouth to say something when a second item came hurdling down from the stage, landing lightly on the side of Booth's head. Booth's cocky expression quickly melted into shock, and Brennan reached out and handed him the assailing object. He looked down at the garter he had been hit with, and his jaw slackened.

Brennan frowned at his dumbfounded expression. "What - Booth, what does it mean?"

Booth just turned slowly to the stage, from which the groom was watching them, laughing. When he caught Booth's eye, he just shrugged. After a moment, Brennan tapped Booth's shoulder, repeating her question.

H cleared his throat. "Uh - it depends of the wedding, but it usually means -"

A shout from the crowd cut him off. "You gotta kiss her, man!"

Booth winced. "Yeah, that sound about right. - Look, Bones, if you don't want to -"

"No, Booth, it's fine - it will help me to better observe the culture associated with weddings."

_Rationalizing again._

"Besides," she lowered her voice until only he could hear her, "- you did it for me at Christmas."

Booth's reflection on that particular landmark in their relationship was disturbed when the groomsman beside him nudged his shoulder, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. "Look, man - you kiss her, or I'm gonna."

Swallowing hard, Booth turned back to Brennan, and his breath caught somewhere in his throat. Her face betrayed the same nervous excitement it had in her office over Christmas, and as she stepped hesitantly towards him, he found himself doing a bit of his own last-minute rationalizing.

Booth looked down at her lips, nervously assuring himself he wasn't going to miss as he leaned in. His nose brushed past her gently, and Brennan felt her eyes slide shut just as his mouth reached hers.

_Oh._

For a moment, both were too shell-shocked to do more than just stand there. Somehow, Booth's hand had ended up on the curve of her waist, and suddenly, she felt it pulling her closer. Releasing the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, she turned her head slightly to the side, letting herself lean into him as her lips slowly began to part.

Booth had counted seven steamboats by the time they pulled apart. There was an embarrassingly loud smacking sound as the suction broke, and both tried to smother their flustered smiles before looking at the other. When their eyes finally met, their cheeks were glowing.

Looking for something to distract himself, Booth held up the garter in his hand for further examination. Suddenly realizing what people in his position were often obliged to do with that garter, his face went white and his eyes darted nervously to Brennan's legs, covered only to the knees by the deep red fabric of her dress. Swallowing hard, he held it away from himself.

"Uh - we don't need this." He hurriedly thrust the unwanted object into the hands of a passer-by, patting him on the shoulder. "There ya go, man."

Booth ignored the man's confused expression and turned his attention back to Brennan, who was watching him with equal bewilderment. Casting around the room for anything to distract her, he heard the music starting up again, and a smile began to spread across his face as he turned slowly back to his partner.

"Hey, Bones - you wanna dance?"

...

A/N: Okay, one more chapter left - they go back to DC and are given an ultimatum my Sweets. I know this chapter may have seemed a little un-realistic, but I decided it was a pretty important step to have before the last chapter, and i deffinately had a lot of people begging for a kiss, so I hope no one's too furstrated. Still love the reviews... thanks for reading :)


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 - The Beginning

**A/N: **_Okay, I know this update took forever, but my computer literally broke, so it took a while to get a ahold of a new one. The upside was that I got all your loveeeely reviews at once, so that was fun for me at least. Anyways, I'm good to go now, and here's the last chapter... I made it extra-long to make up for the delay. It was a tough story to finish up, and I may have written it a little fast because I felt so guilty about making everyone wait so long, but I hope it gives everyone some closure and still kinda leaves enough up to the imagination. Anyways - let me know :)_

...

Brennan put her last shirt haphazardly into her suitcase and zipped it shut before turning to face Booth. He put his hands on his hips, exhaling slowly as he surveyed the newly emptied room.

"Wow, Bones - you know, I might actually miss this place."

Her eyebrows raised in appreciation. "The pretzels were amazing."

"Ha -" He pointed at her triumphantly, grinning characteristically. "I told you they would be. You know, Bones, you really have to have more faith in me."

Brennan rolled her eyes, head shaking as she turned back to her suitcase. "The mini-bar was also excellent; I could really get used to this whole wedding thing."

Booth came around beside her, gently pushing her shoulder with his own. "Starting to come around, Bones?"

She turned towards him, smiling uncomfortably at his expectant grin. "Booth..."

He looked at her for a moment before clearing his throat loudly and turning awkwardly to grab their suitcases. "Yeah all right - let's boogie or we're gonna miss our last meeting with Sweets."

Brennan was momentarily distracted by his sudden change in demeanor, but she was quickly re-diverted as he began to leave with her bag. "Wha-?" She trotted after him, mouth open in protest. "Booth! Why are you taking my suitcase!"

He turned to face her, never breaking stride. "Because I'm the man, here, Bones, okay? - Not you. You know, one of these days, you're just gonna have to learn to accept that."

Their casual bickering became inaudible as he closed the heavy hotel room door behind them, and the newly empty suite was suddenly thrust into lonely silence.

...

As much as the bickering had helped to relieve the tension created by the night before, as soon as they were checked out and sitting in the car, Booth and Brennan lapsed into contemplative silence as the full meaning of their departure began to sink in. They spent most of their time together anyways, but though it felt like very little had changed between them since the study had started, the thought of going back to the way things were before suddenly didn't feel like enough anymore.

If this weren't enough to keep them quiet, the looming prospect of their separation definitely was. Though Brennan wanted to believe that Sweets had never actually intended to split them up for a week, something told her he had been entirely serious when he had announced this second phase of the study. Sighing, she slumped back in her seat, trying to understand why that bothered her so much.

_Look at the facts._

Booth glanced at Brennan out of the corner of his eye, and even from the limited view of her this provided him, the determined expression on her face told him she was trying to think something through. Forcing his eyes back to the road, he willed himself not to say anything to break her train of thought, though he was fairly certain he already knew exactly what it was that was bothering her. In an attempt to smother his agitation, he reminded himself that it was something she needed time to process.

Gripping the steering wheel with considerably more force than necessary, Booth couldn't help but think that for someone whose mind usually worked at an impossible speed, this was sure taking her a while.

...

Several hours later, the pair were walking awkwardly into Sweets' office, greeted as always by his unlawfully sunny disposition. After a moment of studying his nervously smiling guests, however, his own grin began to fade.

"You two are never this quiet. What happened?"

Booth sighed in exasperation. "Look, Sweets, you know what happened."

He frowned, sitting back defensively. "How would i know?"

"Because I saw your number on Agent Stanfield's phone when I borrowed it to check the time. Look, I may not be allowed to work right now, but that doesn't mean I'm not still good at my job."

After a moment, Sweets sighed in resignation. "Okay, fine - I informed him of the situation, and he agreed to help arrange things in a way that would be beneficial to the study." A boyish smile began to spread across his features, as he leaned forward eagerly. "Did it work?"

Booth and Brennan looked at each-other uncomfortably, the former opening and closing his mouth several times before slumping silently back down into his chair. Frowning at this blatant lack of support, Brennan turned to Sweets, though she continued to glance at her partner somewhat distractedly as she ventured an explanation.

"Booth and I-" she paused, frowning slightly as he sank even lower into his seat. "Booth and I are aware of the boundaries of our partnership, and the kiss was purely -" At the point, he began to clear his throat noisily. "-ceremonial."

Sweets took a moment to glance excitedly from one to the other. "Agent Booth, you seem uncomfortable. Why is that?"

Booth seemed to be in the act of burrowing into the back of his chair when he was addressed, and it took him a moment before he even realized he was being spoken to.

"What? Hey, no - I'm totally comfortable. I, uh -" he looked at Brennan nervously, before forcing a grin and turning back to Sweets. "- nice chair."

Sweets frowned slightly, but managed to move on quickly. "So you're saying it was purely ceremonial? Not even part of you enjoyed it?"

When they both just stared at him blankly, he raised his hands in exasperation. "Oh, come on!"

Brennan looked at Booth, who was still staring resolutely ahead, before jumping in. "Dr Sweets, wouldn't it be in the FBI's best interests to keep us _apart_, not get us together? I don't understand why you're so insistent that we like each-other."

Sweets tried to keep the edge of frustration out of his voice. "Because, Dr Brennan, you _do _like each-other, and the sooner you both admit that the sooner we can figure out how to integrate that new type of relationship into your current working relationship."

Brennan opened her mouth, but when she could find nothing to say, she just sat back and crossed her arms resolutely. Sweets glanced between her determinedly icy gaze to Booth's increasingly absent one, and decided there was nothing more he could get out of them like this: it was time to test his theory.

"Well, you two - phase one of this case study is officially over, so we're now moving onto the phase two." This seemed to catch Booth and Brennan's attention, and when he continued, his voice was more confident. "If your relationship is strictly professional as you say it is, then you won't mind seeing each-other only at work. For the next week, you'll be separated except for the time you spend together at the Jeffersonian, which will be very limited since you'll both be assigned to seperate cases."

"Assign Zack as my forensic anthropologist, Sweets, and I swear I'll shoot you."

They'd both known it was coming, but it was a blow all the same. Sweets raised his voice over the sudden outburst of Brennan's protests and Booth's threats, sheilding himself haphazardly with one arm as he did so in case either of them decided to take a swing.

"There _is_ a second option."

Booth's jaw was set as he frowned warningly at Sweets. "Well, now seems like a good time to tell us about it, don't ya think?"

Sweets tried to compose himself, mentally bracing for another impact. "You can - admit that you have a deeper emotional connection than that of simply professional colleagues, and we can work on your relationship in that context instead of splitting you up."

Instead of making their protests louder, this revelation seemed to shock Booth and Brennan into silence. Jumping on the chance to fully express himself, Sweets continued uninterrupted, his smile beginning to return. "Look, you guys - this study has already proved that you can continue to succeed professionally with a deeper personal relationship, so there's nothing holding you back except yourselves."

Brennan frowned. "Is that what this whole thing was about? You told us you were going to use this study to help other partnerships like ours."

Sweets scoffed. "With all due respect, Dr Brennan, your partnership is ... pretty unique." He sighed. "Look, I knew from the minute I met you two that you'd get together eventually, and that both you and your partnership would be all the better for it. The idea of this study wasn't to convince me; it was to prove it to the FBI. That way, when you finally did figure it out, there wouldn't be anything standing in your way."

Booth looked nervously over at Brennan, but she didn't seem to notice. For a moment, she seemed unable to move, but as soon as she had regained her bearings, she was out of her chair and through the door. Suddenly forgetting about Sweets, Booth jumped to his feat and followed after her, breaking into a jog as he heard her speed up down the stairs.

Brennan was enveloped by the cool night air the moment she stepped through the door. She paced up and down the side-walk, trying to re-orient herself and objectiely observe the situation. As hard as it was to remain emotionally detached, she tried to keep a level head long enough to figure out what it was that was making her so unsure.

_Something's missing._

The door slammed shut somewhere to her left, and she looked up to see Booth coming towards her. Even in the half-light, she could tell something was bothering him, but he seemed to relax when he realized she was still there.

He slowed as he neared her, panting slightly. "Look - next time you do that, warn me first."

"I -" she exhaled loudly. "- sorry. I just needed some air."

He took a moment to count cracks in the pavement before looking up at her again. "Hey, about what Sweets said -"

"We ... don't have to talk about this Booth."

"Look, I know your mad at him, Bones, but -"

"I'm not mad at him. I just ... I wish he'd be more upfront with us, that's all."

"I don't like it either, but it has nothing to do with you and me. I just - don't want us to get weird or anything."

She nodded slowly. "So you're saying that you think Sweets is wrong?"

This question seemed to catch Booth off guard, but he composed himself quickly. "Well _you_ must have, or you wouldn't have bolted out of his office like that."

She frowned. "I did not _bolt_, Booth."

Booth scoffed. "You went from zero to sixty in about half a second, Bones; that's not exactly a vote of confidence for the guy."

She just continued to frown. "Zero to sixty?"

He looked at her in exasperation. "It's a car racing thing, Bones, okay? Just - never mind. The point is, we don't have to change just because some twelve-year-old got bored of his action figures and decided to play with, you know - _real people_."

Brennan couldn't help but think that he didn't sound very convinced in his own argument, and for the first time, she stopped trying to figure out how _she_ felt and started wondering how _he _felt. The reason she'd had so much trouble sorting through what he meant to her was because she still didn't know exactly what she meant to him, and it was a pretty tough question to ask.

They'd somehow managed to wander down to the reflecting pond by the Washington Memorial, and as they approached a bench, Brennan sank down on to it. Booth plopped down beside her, sighing as she turned to him, her voice slow and deliberate.

"They're gonna slipt us up, aren't they?"

"Not if I shoot Sweets."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Booth - I'm serious."

"Yeah, well - so am I."

She squinted out towards the pond distractedly. "We probably shouldn't be so hard on him."

"Yeah -" Booth scrunched his face. "- he _is_ just a kid."

"And he's right a lot."

"- For a kid."

Brennan leaned forward on the bench, smiling slowly. "You know, despite all the lying and manipulation ... I actually kind of enjoyed his study."

"Yeah -" He turned towards her, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "Me too."

She was suddenly very conscious that their shoulders were touching, but she did her best to ignore it."- And I'm going to miss your snoring."

He took a moment to pause in confusion. "... I would say you're being sarcastic, but, I don't think you do that -"

"The rhythm of the snores helps me fall asleep." She shrugged. "I find it soothing."

"Yeah, well - I'll tell you what _I'm_ gonna miss; your conditioner."

Her eyes widened, and he grinned. "Smooth and silky."

"Booth! You stole my conditioner?"

"Yeah, well, you stole my PJs, so I think we're, you know - more than even on that one."

She shook her head, smiling out towards the pond. "You know, I'm going to miss you next week."

He turned to her, giving her a small half-smile. "Yeah - me too. - But, hey - at least it's only a week, right? "

She nodded firmly. "And then back to life as usual." She hadn't mean to sound so disappointed, but it came out that way anways.

His smile faded. "Yeah - you in the lab, me in the field."

"Right. The way it's supposed to be."

"- Right."

Brennan caught his eye, her expression betraying all the disappointment she couldn't voice. She knew she should have looked away sooner, but her stomach was twisting, and he was sitting so close, and she thought she felt his hand brush up against hers, so she just held his gaze. It was in that moment that they both made the wordless decision not to go back. This time, when Booth leaned in, and Brennan's eyes flickered shut, there was nothing there to stop them.

...

**A/N: **_Another thankyou to everyone who stuck with this story - 30 chapters is a ton to read; you guys are all troopers. I don't know if I'll do any more writing after this fic (it was my first one) but I loved doing it, and you guys are a big part of that. THANKSSS_


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